H 


Gi 


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f\    ;/  i  , 


\  1  S  i 


...iN-DY  AND  FRED  FOUND  THE  ROCKS  ANYTHING  BUT  EASY 

TO  ASCEND. 
The  Rover  Boys  at  Dig  Horn  Ranch.  Frontispiece  {Page  271) 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT 
BIG  HORN  RANCH 


OR 


THE  COWBOYS'  DOUBLE 
ROUND-UP 


BY 

ARTHUR  M.  WINFIELD 

(Edward  Stratemeyer) 

OF  "THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  SCHOOL/'  "THE  ROVER  BOYS 
ON  TREASURE  JSLE,"  "THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLBY  HALL," 
PUTNAM  HALL  CADETS  SERIES,"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS 
Made  in  the  United  States  of  America 


BOOKS  BY  ARTHUR  M.  WINFIELD 

(Edward  Stratemeyer) 


THE  FIRST  ROVER  BOYS  SERIES 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  SCHOOL 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  OCEAN 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  JUNGLE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  OUT  WEST 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  GREAT  LAKES 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  CAMP 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  LAND  AND  SEA 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  RIVER 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  PLAINS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  SOUTHERN  WATERS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  TREASURE  ISLE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLLEGE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  DOWN  EAST 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  AIR 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  NEW  YORK 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  ALASKA 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  A  TOUR 


THE  SECOND  ROVER  BOYS  SERIES 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLBY  HALL 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  UNDER  CANVAS 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  A  HUNT 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  LAND  OF  LUCK 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 


THE  PUTNAM  HALL  SERIES 


THE  CADETS  OF  PUTNAM  HALL 
THE  RIVALS  OF  PUTNAM  HALL 
THE  CHAMPIONS  OF  PUTNAM  HALL 
THE  REBELLION  OF  PUTNAM  HALL 
CAMPING  OUT  DAYS  AT  PUTNAM  HALL 
THE  MYSTERY  AT  PUTNAM  HALL 


I2mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated. 


GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  New  York 


COPYRIGHT,  1922,  BY 
EDWARD    STRATEMEYER 


The  Rover  Boys  at  Big  Horn  Ranch 


StacHf 

Annwc 


INTRODUCTION 


MY  DEAR  BOYS  :  This  book  is  a  complete  story 
in  itself,  but  forms  the  sixth  volume  in  a  line  is- 
sued under  the  general  title,  "The  Second  Rover 
Boys  Series  for  Young  Americans." 

As  noted  in  some  volumes  of  the  first  series, 
this  line  was  started  years  ago  with  the  publica- 
tion of  "The  Rover  Boys  at  School,"  "On  the 
Ocean,"  and  "In  the  Jungle,"  in  which  I  intro- 
duced my  readers  to  Dick,  Tom  and  Sam  Rover 
and  their  relatives  and  friends.  The  twenty  vol- 
umes of  the  First  Series  related  the  doings  of 
these  three  Rover  boys  while  attending  Putnam 
Hall  Military  Academy,  Brill  College,  and  while 
on  numerous  outings. 

Having  finished  their  education,  the  three 
young  men  established  themselves  in  business  and 
became  married.  Dick  Rover  was  blessed  with 
a  son  and  a  daughter,  as  was  also  his  brother 
Sam,  while  Tom  became  the  proud  father  of  a 
pair  of  the  liveliest  kind  of  twin  boys. 

From  their  home  in  New  York  City  the  young 
Rovers  were  sent  to  a  boarding  school,  as  related 
in  the  first  volume  of  the  Second  Series,  entitled 


2076549 


iv  INTRODUCTION 

"The  Rover  Boys  at  Colby  Hall."  From  that 
institution  of  learning  the  scene  was  shifted  to 
"Snowshoe  Island,"  where  the  lads  spent  a  mid- 
winter outing.  Then  they  rejoined  their  fellow- 
cadets  and  had  some  strenuous  doings  while 
"Under  Canvas."  After  that,  in  a  volume  en- 
titled "The  Rover  Boys  on  a  Hunt,"  I  related  how 
they  uncovered  the  mystery  surrounding  a  strange 
house  in  the  woods.  And  following  this  came  a 
trip  to  Texas  and  Oklahoma,  where,  "In  the  Land 
of  Luck,"  the  boys  aided  Dick  Rover  in  his  ef- 
forts to  locate  some  valuable  oil  wells. 

In  the  present  volume  the  scene  is  shifted  back 
to  Colby  Hall  and  then  to  a  ranch  in  the  West 
where  some  remarkable  happenings  await  our 
young  heroes. 

From  reports  received  I  am  assured  that  the 
sale  of  this  line  of  books  has  now  passed  the  three 
million  mark!  This  is  as  astonishing  as  it  is 
gratifying.  I  sincerely  trust  that  the  reading  of 
the  volumes  will  do  all  of  the  boys  and  girls  good. 
Affectionately  and  sincerely  yours, 

EDWARD  STRATEMEYER. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

I.    SNOW  AND  SNOWBALLS 


II.  SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS     .     .     . 

III.  WHAT  THE  SNEAK  TOLD 

IV.  PRISONERS        

V.  BY  THE  FISHING  POLE  ROUTE 46 

VI.  A  TOUCH  OF  MYSTERY 58 

VII.  SOMETHING  ABOUT  A  SLEIGHRIDE  PARTY     .     .  70 

VIII.  A  FIGHT  AND  A  CHALLENGE 82 

IX.  THE  SHOOTING  CONTEST 93 

X.  SPOUTER'S  SECRET 103 

XI.  THE  ELECTION  OF  OFFICERS 113 

XII.  BONFIRE  NIGHT 123 

XIII.  A  STARTLING  DISCOVERY 133 

XIV.  THE  PARADE 145 

XV.  BASEBALL         .......*....  156 

XVI.  SPOUTER  Is  CORNERED .  166 

XVII.  GOOD-BYE  TO  SCHOOL     ........  175 

XVIII.  ON  THE  WAY  WEST 184 

XIX.  IN  THE  SADDLE 193 

XX.  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 204 


vi  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 


PAGE 


XXI.    HOP  LUNG  AND  THE  FISH 213 

XXII.    A  HORSE  AND  A  SNAKE 222 

XXIII.  JARLEY  BANGS 232 

XXIV.  A  NEW  ARRIVAL .  •   .  242 

XXV.    PROFESSOR  DUKE'S  SECRET 254 

XXVI.    THE  CATTLE  STAMPEDE 264 

XXVII.  THE  MOUNTAIN  LION  .........  274 

XXVIII.    IN  THE  CAVE 284 

XXIX.  A  CONFESSION       ...        •    ...    •    >.    •     •  294 

XXX.  THE  CAPTURE— CONCLUSION     .    >.    ,:    •?.    ._    .  303 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT 
BIG  HORN  RANCH 


CHAPTER    I 

SNOW  AND  SNOWBALLS 

"LiNE  up,  fellows !  No  crowding  ahead  in  this 
contest." 

"Here,  Jack,  give  me  some  elbow  room  if  you 
want  me  to  do  any  real  snowball  throwing !"  cried 
Fred  Rover. 

"All  the  elbow  room  you  want,"  returned  his 
cousin  gayly. 

"Remember  the  prize!"  shouted  Andy  Rover 
to  the  cadets  who  were  stringing  themselves  out 
in  a  ragged  line.  "The  first  fellow  to  throw  a 
snowball  over  the  top  of  the  barn  gets  a  sock 
doughnut." 

"For  gracious  sake!  what  do  you  call  a  sock 
doughnut?"  demanded  Phil  Franklin,  another 
cadet,  as  he  paused  in  the  act  of  rounding  up  a 
snowball  he  was  making. 

"A  sock  doughnut  is  one  with  a  big  hole  in  it," 
answered  Andy,  with  a  grin. 

l 


2       THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Then  my  socks  must  be  all  of  the  doughnut 
variety,"  put  in  one  of  the  cadets  dolefully. 
"They  are  always  full  of  holes." 

"Never  mind  the  socks  now!"  cried  Randy 
Rover.  "Let's  see  who  can  put  the  first  snowball 
over  the  barn." 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  of  a  day  in  Jan- 
uary and  a  number  of  the  cadets  of  Colby  Hall 
had  been  amusing  themselves  in  the  snow  which 
covered  the  ground  to  a  depth  of  nearly  a  foot. 
They  had  started  in  to  snowballing  each  other, 
but  had  then  grown  more  serious  and  had  built 
several  snow  forts  and  likewise  two  or  three 
snowmen  which  later  they  had  taken  great  sport 
in  knocking  apart.  Then  some  one  had  suggested 
that  they  try  their  skill  at  seeing  who  could  throw 
the  highest  and  farthest,  and  this  had  led  to  the 
present  contest. 

"We'll  mark  off  a  line  about  a  hundred  feet 
from  the  main  barn,"  Jack  Rover  had  announced. 
"And  then  we'll  see  who  can  throw  highest  over 
the  roof." 

The  four  Rovers  were  accompanied  by  half  a 
dozen  of  their  chums  and  six  or  eight  others,  and 
at  the  word  from  Jack  the  snowballs  began  to  fly 
at  a  lively  rate,  a  few  landing  on  the  roof  of  the 
big  barn  and  the  majority  hitting  the  side. 

"Say,  look  out  that  you  don't  break  a  win- 


SNOW  AND  SNOWBALLS  3 

dow,"  warned  Gif  Garrison.  "If  you  do,  you'll 
have  an  account  to  settle  with  Captain  Dale." 

"Here  she  goes!"  yelled  Dan  Soppinger,  and 
let  fly  with  so  much  strength  that  the  snowball 
sailed  up  to  the  very  ridgepole  of  the  barn  and 
disappeared  on  the  other  side. 

"Hurrah!  Dan  draws  first  blood!"  shouted 
Jack. 

"Huh!  Dan  didn't  throw  over  the  barn,  he 
just  slid  over  it,"  snickered  Randy. 

Jack  was  hard  at  work  making  a  small  and  per- 
fectly round  ball.  Now,  taking  careful  aim,  he 
let  fly  with  all  his  might. 

"There  she  goes  fair  and  square,"  he  an- 
nounced with  pardonable  pride,  as  the  snowball 
cleared  the  top  of  the  barn  by  several  feet  and 
disappeared  beyond. 

The  snowball  had  scarcely  been  thrown  when 
two  other  balls  thrown  by  Fred  and  another  cadet 
went  sailing  over  the  barn.  Then  those  in  the 
contest  seemed  to  acquire  better  skill,  and  soon 
nearly  every  one  of  them  was  topping  the  barn 
with  the  missiles. 

"Phew !  some  hot  work,  I'll  say,"  panted  Will 
Hendry,  usually  called  Fatty  because  he  was  the 
stoutest  boy  in  the  school. 

"This  exercise  will  do  you  good,  Fatty,"  re- 
turned Fred.  "You  need  to  reduce," 


4       THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"If  Fatty  keeps  on  he'll  be  eating  Colby  Hall 
poor,"  announced  Spouter  Powell. 

"Huh !  I  don't  eat  any  more  than  any  of  you," 
grumbled  Fatty.  "Fact  is,  I  hold  myself  down." 

"Gee !  listen  to  that,  will  you  ?"  exclaimed  Andy. 
"Fatty  says  he  holds  himself  down!  And  this 
morning  I  saw  him  storing  away  three  helpings 
of  sausages  and  about  'steen  dozen  buckwheat 
cakes." 

"Nothing  of  the  kind !  I  didn't  have  a  bit  more 
than  you  had,"  growled  Hendry.  He  broke  off 
suddenly.  "Hello!  what's  up  now?" 

"Hi !  Hi !  What's  the  meaning  o'  this  ?"  cried 
a  voice  from  around  one  end  of  the  big  barn,  and 
a  man,  dressed  in  overalls  and  a  heavy  cap  and 
carrying  a  broom,  appeared. 

"Hello  there,  Bob  Nixon !"  cried  Jack.  "What's 
wrong  ?" 

"There'll  be  a  whole  lot  wrong  if  you  fellows 
keep  on  throwing  those  snowballs  much  farther," 
answered  Bob  Nixon,  who  was  a  chauffeur  for 
the  Hall  and  who  did  all  sorts  of  odd  jobs  in  the 
winter  time. 

"Did  we  hit  you?"  questioned  Phil  Franklin. 

"You  sure  did — on  the  back  and  on  my  hand," 
answered  Nixon. 

"We  didn't  know  anybody  was  around  on  that 
side  of  the  barn,"  announced  Andy. 


SNOW  AND  SNOWBALLS  5 

"I  don't  suppose  you  did.  But  never  mind  me. 
What  I  want  to  know  is,  do  you  fellows  intend  to 
smash  all  the  glass  in  those  hotbed  frames  out 
yonder  ?" 

"Great  salt  mackerel !"  ejaculated  Fred.  "I  for- 
got those  hotbed  frames  were  there." 

"Why,  the  glass  is  out  of  'em,  anyway,  isn't 
it?"  questioned  Gif. 

"It  was  out.  But  they've  been  setting  some  of 
'em  in  again,  getting  ready  for  some  early  stuff. 
You've  sent  those  snowballs  up  to  within  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  of  where  the  frames  are  located." 

"Gosh!  it's  a  good  thing  you  told  us  of  this," 
burst  out  Fatty  Hendry.  "We  might  have  had  a 
nice  lot  of  glassware  to  pay  for." 

"Not  you,  Fatty,"  grinned  Andy.  "You  never 
even  hit  the  top  of  the  barn.  If  you  break  any 
glass  it  will  be  in  some  of  those  basement  win- 
dows." 

"Come  on  up  to  the  other  end  of  the  barn," 
suggested  Gif.  "Then  the  snowballs  will  fly  right 
out  into  the  open  field  and  do  no  harm." 

"Well,  I  don't  care  where  you  throw  'em  as 
long  as  you  don't  get  into  mischief,"  answered 
Bob  Nixon,  and  disappeared  into  the  barn. 

After  that  the  cadets  continued  to  throw  over 
the  structure  for  some  time.  But  then  they  grad- 
ually lost  interest,  and  as  the  short  winter  day 


6   THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

was  coming  rapidly  to  an  end  some  hurried  into 
the  Hall  to  do  a  little  extra  school  work  before 
the  bell  should  ring  for  supper. 

"Well,  what  next?"  questioned  Fred  Rover, 
when  he  and  his  three  cousins  and  Gif,  Phil  and 
Spouter  found  themselves  left  alone. 

"I've  got  a  great  scheme  for  to-night  if  you 
fellows  will  help,"  announced  Randy.  He  and 
his  twin  brother  were  always  ready  for  a  joke. 

"What  is  it?"  questioned  Jack  quickly. 

"This  snow  is  just  soft  enough  for  rolling  some 
big  balls,  as  we  found  out  this  afternoon,"  an- 
swered his  cousin.  "What's  the  matter  with  mak- 
ing a  whole  lot  of  big  snowballs  and  placing  'em 
in  some  of  the  bedrooms  to-night  ?" 

"Gee,  that's  the  talk!"  cried  his  twin  merrily. 
"I'd  like  to  place  a  couple  in  Codfish's  room." 

"He  certainly  deserves  'em,"  added  Fred. 
"He's  getting  to  be  just  as  big  a  sneak  as  he  ever 
was.  All  of  our  kindness  to  him  seems  to  have 
been  useless." 

"And  I  thought  he  was  going  to  turn  over  a 
new  leaf,"  declared  Jack.  "I  wonder  if  some  of 
the  other  fellows  haven't  been  teasing  him  and 
that  has  made  him  go  back  to  his  old  tricks." 

"I  know  one  person  I'd  like  to  treat  to  some 
big  snowballs!"  broke  out  Fred.  "That's  Pro- 
fessor Duke." 


SNOW  AND  SNOWBALLS  J 

"Oh,  say!  I'd  like  to  square  up  with  him  my- 
self," burst  out  Andy.  "Gee!  he  certainly  did 
have  it  in  for  us  yesterday." 

"Professor  Duke  is  certainly  a  sour  one — much 
worse  than  Asa  Lemm  ever  dared  to  be,"  came 
from  Gif. 

"I  was  thinking  of  Duke  when  I  mentioned  it," 
said  Randy.  "You  know  he  has  his  room  in  our 
building  instead  of  with  the  other  professors  in 
Colonel  Colby's  residence." 

"We  don't  want  to  get  in  bad  with  the  colonel," 
remarked  Fred  seriously. 

"Oh,  I  think  we  can  fix  it  so  that  nobody  will 
know  who  did  it,"  returned  his  cousin. 

The  matter  was  talked  over  for  several  min- 
utes, and  then,  having  agreed  on  their  plan  for 
more  fun,  the  Rover  boys  and  their  chums  set  to 
work  rolling  a  number  of  snowballs  which  were 
two  feet  or  more  in  diameter.  These  they  placed 
close  to  the  school  building  at  a  point  where  there 
was  a  series  of  fire-escapes  leading  down  from 
the  upper  halls  of  the  institution. 

"We  can  let  down  the  ladder  just  as  soon  as 
we're  ready  to  turn  the  trick,"  announced  Randy. 
"I  don't  believe  anybody  will  notice  it,  for  it  will 
be  dark  and  so  cold  that  most  everybody  will  be 
indoors." 

"We've  got  to  be  on  our  guard  to  make  cer- 


8   THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

tain  that  Codfish  or  Duke  or  somebody  else  doesn't 
spot  us,"  said  Spouter  Powell.  "Of  course  it 
wouldn't  hurt  if  some  of  the  regular  fellows  found 
us  out,  because  they'd  keep  it  to  themselves." 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  Rover  boys  were 
rather  preoccupied  in  mind  during  supper  that 
evening.  In  fact,  Andy  grew  so  thoughtless  that 
he  salted  some  eggs  he  was  eating  three  times,  so 
that  when  he  finally  came  to  his  senses  the  food 
had  to  be  pushed  aside.  This  happened  just  as 
Professor  Snopper  Duke  was  passing,  and  the 
new  teacher  eyed  the  young  cadet  suspiciously. 

"What  is  the  matter  with  that  omelet,  Rover?" 
he  demanded,  in  his  high-pitched,  nervous  tone 
of  voice. 

"Nothing  the  matter  with  it,  sir,"  answered 
Andy.  "Only  I  somehow  forgot  and  salted  it  too 
much." 

"Really !"  returned  Snopper  Duke  sarcastically. 
"Is  that  the  way  you  waste  food  ?" 

"No,  sir.  It  was  only  a  mistake,"  answered 
Andy  meekly. 

"You  ought  to  be  made  to  eat  that  omelet/1 
continued  the  professor  severely.  "Don't  let  such 
a  thing  happen  again."  And  then,  with  his  eyes 
rolling  around  among  the  other  cadets  to  see  if 
anything  else  might  be  wrong,  he  passed  slowly 
down  among  the  tables  of  the  mess  hall. 


SNOW  AND  SNOWBALLS  9 

"Oh,  isn't  he  a  perfect  little  lamb !"  murmured 
Randy.  "So  awfully  tender-hearted !" 

"Somebody  ought  to  wring  his  neck,"  grum- 
bled his  twin. 

"Just  the  same,  Andy,  you'd  better  be  careful 
how  you  handle  the  salt-shaker  after  this,"  put  in 
Jack. 

After  the  meal  the  Rovers  and  their  chums 
mingled  with  the  other  cadets  and  informed  two 
or  three  of  what  was  in  the  wind,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence there  was  quite  some  excitement  no- 
ticeable when  a  little  later  the  crowd,  with  the 
exception  of  Randy,  slipped  out  of  the  school 
building  by  a  side  door.  Randy  ran  upstairs,  to 
appear  presently  on  the  lower  landing  of  the  fire- 
escape.  Here  was  suspended  a  heavy  iron  lad- 
der in  such  a  fashion  that  it  could  be  easily  shoved 
out  so  that  one  end  would  drop  to  the  ground. 

Soon  the  crowd  of  cadets  appeared  in  the  snow 
below  him,  and  then,  with  a  warning  to  them  to 
get  out  of  the  way,  Randy  let  down  the  ladder 
and  then  came  down  himself. 

"All  clear  upstairs,"  he  announced.  "Not  a  soul 
in  sight." 

"One  of  us  ought  to  stay  on  guard  up  there  to 
give  warning  in  case  it's  necessary,"  announced 
Spouter. 

"Well,  suppose  you  go  up,"  returned  Jack. 


10      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"I'd  just  as  soon  help  with  the  snowballs,"  re- 
turned Spouter.  "But  if  you  want  me  to  go  I'll 
do  so."  And  a  moment  later  he  disappeared  up 
the  ladder  and  into  the  school  building  through  a 
Window  which  had  been  thrown  open. 

The  cadets  on  the  ground  found  it  no  easy  task 
to  raise  the  big  snowballs  up  the  ladder.  They 
tried  it  first  with  nothing  but  their  hands,  but 
soon  found  they  could  do  much  better  by  dump- 
ing a  snowball  into  a  big  overcoat  and  then  haul- 
ing it  up  by  the  sleeves  and  the  tail  of  the  gar- 
ment. They  worked  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and 
soon  had  eight  of  the  snowballs  raised  to  the 
platform  of  the  fire-escape. 

"How  about  it  ?  Everything  clear  ?"  questioned 
Randy,  as  he  came  into  the  corridor  where  Spout- 
er was  on  guard. 

"All  clear  so  far,"  was  the  reply.  "A  few  of 
the  fellows  are  in  their  rooms,  but  no  one  that  we 
are  going  to  bother." 

"Then  let's  get  those  snowballs  inside  and  dis- 
tribute 'em," 

In  a  few  minutes  the  snowballs  were  gotten  in- 
side the  building,  and  then  two  were  rolled  and 
pushed  over  to  the  room  occupied  by  Henry  Sto- 
well,  a  cadet  commonly  called  Codfish  on  account 
of  the  broadness  of  his  mouth.  Luck  was  with 
them,  for  the  door  was  unlocked,  so  that  they 


SNOW  AND  SNOWBALLS  it 

had  little  trouble  in  rolling  the  snowballs  inside, 
where  they  were  placed  one  on  either  side  of  the 
single  bed  the  cadet  occupied. 

After  this  the  cadets  rolled  several  of  the  balls 
to  various  other  rooms,  one  being  placed  in  the 
tub  of  a  bathroom. 

"I've  saved  the  biggest  of  the  snowballs,"  whis- 
pered Randy.  "That's  the  one  we  must  place  in 
Professor  Duke's  room." 

The  professor's  room  was  around  in  another 
corridor,  and  to  get  to  this  the  cadets  had  to  roll 
the  big  snowball  directly  past  the  top  of  the  broad 
stairs  leading  to  the  hall  below.  They  had  the 
snowball  in  a  position  right  at  the  head  of  the 
stairs  when  Spouter,  who  was  leaning  over  the 
upper  railing  on  guard,  gave  a  sudden  hiss  of 
warning. 

"Somebody  coming!"  he  announced  in  a  whis- 
per. "And  unless  I'm  mistaken,  it's  Professor 
Duke!" 

"Gosh!  I  hope  he  doesn't  catch  us,"  returned 
Gif  Garrison.  "Maybe  we  had  better  run  for  it." 

"Here  he  comes  right  for  the  stairs!"  put  in 
Jack,  as  he  saw  the  familiar  form  pass  a  light  in 
the  lower  hall. 

The  cadets  did  not  know  just  what  to  do,  and 
while  they  paused  to  consider,  Professor  Duke 
started  up  the  long,  straight  stairs.  He  was  evi- 


12      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

dently  in  deep  thought  and  did  not  look  above 
him. 

"Run,  fellows!  Run!"  whispered  Andy  ex- 
citedly, and  then,  as  the  others  started  away  he 
attempted  to  follow.  But  the  floor  was  wet  from 
the  melting  snow,  and  down  he  came  flat  on  his 
back,  both  feet  hitting  the  big  snowball  squarely. 

The  movement  was  sufficient  to  send  the  snow- 
ball directly  to  the  edge  of  the  top  step.  Here,  as 
Andy  scrambled  to  his  f zet,  it  hovered  for  a  mo- 
ment, then  began  to  slide  down  the  stairs,  gather- 
ing speed  from  step  to  step. 

"Hi!  Hi!  What  is  this?"  those  above  heard 
Snopper  Duke  ejaculate.  And  the  next  instant 
the  teacher  set  up  a  yell  of  alarm  as  the  big  snow- 
ball hit  him  in  the  stomach  and  hurled  him  to  one 
side.  Then  the  snowball  passed  on  down  the 
stairs,  slid  across  the  lower  hallway,  and  shot  di- 
rectly through  the  open  door  leading  to  Colonel 
Colby's  private  office! 


CHAPTER   II 

SOMETHING  ABOUT   THE   ROVER  BOY§ 

"GEE,  we've  done  it  now !" 
"The  snowball  knocked  Professor  Duke  over!" 
"Hi !    Stop  that !    What  do  you  mean  ?    Who 
did  that?"  came  in  smothered  tones  from  Snop- 
per  Duke,  who  now  sat  on  one  of  the  lower  steps 
of  the  stairs,  holding1  both  hands  over  the  spot 
where  the  big  snowball  had  struck  him. 

"Gosh !  it  struck  him,  all  right,"  whispered  Gif 
Garrison. 

"Yes.  And  it  went  across  the  hallway  into 
Colonel  Colby's  office!"  gasped  Andy,  who  had 
scrambled  to  his  feet  and  given  a  glance  down- 
ward. 

"Skip  for  it!"  put  in  his  twin  brother  quickly. 
"We  mustn't  be  caught  at  this." 

The  warning  was  not  needed,  for  all  of  the 
cadets  were  already  scrambling  through  the  cor- 
ridor and  away  from  the  stairs  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible. They  came  to  a  halt  in  front  of  Room  18, 
that  which  Jack  occupied. 

13 


I4      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Skip  inside  and  pretend  to  be  reading  or 
studying,"  said  the  oldest  of  the  Rover  boys. 

"I  think  we  had  better  go  to  our  own  rooms," 
said  Gif  to  Phil  and  Spouter.  "And  remember, 
mum  is  the  word,"  he  added  for  the  benefit  of 
the  others. 

"There'll  be  some  fun  sooner  or  later,  believe 
me,"  remarked  Fred.  "Andy,  why  did  you  push 
that  snowball  downstairs  on  top  of  old  Duke?" 

"I  didn't  do  it  on  purpose.  I  slipped,"  was  the 
answer.  "But  come  before  they  start  to  investi- 
gate." And  then  he  slipped  into  Jack's  room,  fol- 
lowed by  his  cousins. 

And  here  let  me  pause  for  a  moment  to  tell 
something  about  the  Rover  boys  and  how  it  was 
that  they  came  to  be  at  Colby  Hall.  My  old 
readers  will  riot  need  this  introduction,  and,  there- 
fore, I  shall  not  feel  hurt  if  they  skip  my  words 
on  the  subject 

In  the  first  volume  of  this  line,  entitled  "The 
Rover  Boys  at  School,"  I  introduced  three  broth- 
ers, Dick,  Tom,  and  Sam  Rover,  and  told  how 
they  were  sent  to  Putnam  Hall  Military  Academy 
where  they  made  a  number  of  chums,  including  a 
cadet  named  Lawrence  Colby. 

Passing  through  Putnam  Hall  successfully,  the 
three  brothers  next  attended  Brill  College,  and 
then  went  into  business  in  New  York  City,  where 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS   15 

they  organized  The  Rover  Company,  with  offices 
on  Wall  Street. 

During  their  school  days  the  Rover  brothers 
had  fallen  in  with  three  very  nice  girls,  Dora 
Stanhope  and  her  cousins,  Nellie  and  Grace  Lan- 
ing.  The  three  young  couples  became  married 
and  settled  down  in  connecting  houses  on  River- 
side Drive,  New  York  City. 

About  a  year  following  their  marriage  Dick 
and  his  wife  Dora  became  the  parents  of  a  son, 
who  was  named  John,  and  this  son  was  followed 
by  a  daughter  Martha.  The  boy  Jack,  as  he  was 
usually  called,  was  a  sturdy  youth  with  many  of 
the  independent  qualities  which  had  made  his 
father  so  successful. 

Shortly  after  the  birth  of  Jack,  Tom  Rover 
and  his  wife  Nellie  came  forward  with  a  great 
surprise  in  the  form  of  a  pair  of  lively  twin  boys, 
one  of  whom  was  named  Anderson  and  the  other 
Randolph.  Andy  and  Randy,  as  they  were  in- 
variably called,  were  exceedingly  active  lads,  in 
that  particular  being  a  second  edition  of  their 
fun-loving  father,  Tom. 

About  the  time  Tom's  twins  came  upon  the 
scene  Sam  Rover  and  his  wife  Grace  became  the 
parents  of  a  little  girl,  called  Mary.  Then,  a  year 
later,  the  girl  was  followed  by  a  boy  who  was 
christened  Fred. 


1 6      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

Residing  side  by  side,  the  younger  generation 
of  Rover  boys,  as  well  as  their  sisters,  were 
brought  up  very  much  as  one  large  family.  At 
first  they  were  sent  to  private  schools  in  the  Me- 
tropolis, but  the  boys,  led  by  Andy  and  Randy, 
showed  such  an  aptitude  for  fun  and  horseplay 
that  their  parents  were  compelled  to  hold  a  con- 
sultation. 

"We'll  have  to  send  those  kids  to  some  strict 
boarding  school — some  military  academy,"  said 
Dick  Rover. 

"I  guess  that's  right,"  his  brother  Tom  had 
answered.  "Although  how  my  wife  is  going  to 
get  along  without  having  the  twins  around  is  more 
than  I  know." 

At  that  time  Lawrence  Colby,  the  Rovers'  for- 
mer Putnam  Hall  chum,  was  at  the  head  of  a 
military  academy  called  Colby  Hall.  To  this  in- 
stitution Jack,  Fred,  and  the  twins  were  sent. 
And  what  they  did  upon  their  arrival  there  is  told 
in  detail  in  the  first  volume  of  my  second  series, 
entitled  "The  Rover  Boys  at  Colby  Hall." 

The  military  school  was  located  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  town  of  Haven  Point  on  Clear- 
water  Lake.  At  the  head  of  the  lake  was  the 
Rick  Rack  River,  running  down  from  the  hills 
and  forests  beyond.  The  school  consisted  of  a 
large  stone  building  facing  the  river,  and  close  by 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS      17 

\vas  a  smaller  building  occupied  by  Colonel  Colby 
and  his  family  and  some  of  the  professors,  and  at 
a  short  distance  were  a  gymnasium,  a  boathouse, 
and  likewise  bathing  pavilions. 

On  arriving  at  Colby  Hall  the  younger  Rovers 
found  several  of  their  friends  awaiting  them,  in- 
cluding Dick  Powell,  usually  called  Spouter  be- 
cause of  his  occasional  desire  to  make  long 
speeches,  and  Gifford  Garrison.  Spouter  and  Gif 
were  the  sons  of  Songbird  Powell  and  Fred  Gar- 
rison, men  who  in  their  boyhood  days  had  been 
close  chums  of  the  older  Rovers  while  at  Putnam 
Hall.  The  Rovers  made  a  number  of  other 
friends,  and,  likewise,  a  few  enemies,  many  of 
whom  will  be  heard  of  later. 

As  mentioned,  Colby  Hall  was  located  about 
half  a  mile  beyond  Haven  Point,  and  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  town  was  Clearwater  Hall,  a 
boarding  school  for  girls.  During  a  panic  in  a 
motion  picture  house  the  Rover  boys  became  ac- 
quainted with  several  girls  from  Clearwater  Hall, 
including  Ruth  Stevenson,  May  Powell,  Alice 
Strobell,  and  Annie  Larkins.  They  discovered 
that  May  was  Spouter  Powell's  cousin,  and  the 
whole  crowd  of  young  people  soon  became  friends. 
Later  on  Mary  and  Martha  Rover  became  pupils 
at  the  girls'  school. 

Ruth  Stevenson  had  an  old  uncle,  Barney,  and 


1 8      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

one  day,  while  out  hunting,  the  Rover  boys  did 
the  old  man  a  great  service.  For  this  he  invited 
them  to  spend  some  winter  holidays  with  him, 
which  they  did,  as  related  in  another  volume, 
called  "The  Rover  Boys  on  Snowshoe  Island." 

On  this  island  the  boys  met  two  of  their  former 
enemies,  Nappy  Martell  and  Slugger  Brown,  as 
well  as  Asa  Lemm,  a  discharged  teacher  of  Colby 
Hall.  The  Rovers  exposed  a  plot  against  old 
Uncle  Barney  and  caused  the  hunter's  enemies  to 
leave  Snowshoe  Island  in  disgust. 

Some  of  the  boys  hoped  they  had  seen  the  last 
of  Nappy  and  Slugger,  but  Jack  was  doubtful; 
and  how  those  two  unworthies  turned  up  again 
to  cause  more  trouble  is  related  in  the  book  en- 
titled "The  Rover  Boys  Under  Canvas." 

This  was  at  the  time  of  the  annual  encampment, 
and  at  an  election  of  officers  Jack  was  made  cap- 
tain of  Company  C  and  Fred  made  first  lieuten- 
ant. 

While  the  Rover  boys  were  at  Colby  Hall  the 
great  war  in  Europe  opened.  When  the  call  for 
army  volunteers  came  Dick  Rover  and  his  brother 
Sam  lost  no  time  in  enlisting,  and  as  soon  as  he 
could  get  away  Tom  Rover  followed;  and  the 
three  fathers  of  the  boys  went  into  the  trenches 
in  Europe  to  do  their  duty  for  Uncle  Sam. 

During  the  following  winter  at  Colby  Hall  Gif 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS   19 

Garrison  received  a  letter  from  an  uncle,  stating 
that  he  and  his  chums  might  use  a  bungalow  up 
in  the  woods.  Gif  at  once  invited  the  Rover  boys 
and  Spouter  to  become  his  guests,  and  what  a 
glorious  time  the  lads  had  is  related  in  a  volume 
entitled  "The  Rover  Boys  on  a  Hunt." 

The  return  of  the  older  Rovers  from  Europe 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  great  war  in  which  they 
had  served  gallantly  brought  something  of  a  sur- 
prise. Dick  Rover  had  saved  the  life  of  a  man 
from  Texas,  and  in  return  had  been  given  the 
deed  to  some  property  located  between  Texas  and 
Oklahoma  and  said  to  be  in  a  region  containing 
oil.  He  decided  to  go  to  Texas  and  Oklahoma 
to  investigate,  and  the  four  boys  begged  to  go 
along.  How  they  went  to  the  oil  fields  and  what 
stirring  adventures  they  had  there  are  related  in 
detail  in  the  volume  preceding  this,  called  "The 
Rover  Boys  in  the  Land  of  Luck." 

Here  they  fell  in  again  with  Nappy  Martell, 
Slugger  Brown,  and  another  good-for-nothing  lad 
named  Gabe  Werner,  and  also  with  a  man  named 
Carson  Davenport,  who  did  his  best  to  do  Dick 
Rover  great  harm.  Davenport  and  some  of  his> 
cohorts  were  finally  placed  under  arrest.  As  a 
result  of  this  Gabe  Werner's  father  took  hold  of 
some  wells  that  were  being  sunk  by  the  Daven- 
port crowd.  But  in  the  end  he  and  the  Martella 


20      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

and  the  Browns  lost  a  great  deal  of  their  money, 
so  that  they  were  left  almost  penniless. 

"It's  a  terrible  blow  for  those  three  families," 
said  Dick  Rover,  when  this  occurred.  "It  will 
make  Mr.  Werner  quite  a  poor  man." 

"Well,  I  don't  particularly  wish  them  any  hard 
luck,"  remarked  Andy.  "Just  the  same,  I  guess 
Nappy,  Slugger,  and  Gabe  got  what  was  coming 
to  them." 

Before  going  down  to  Texas  and  Oklahoma 
the  Rover  boys,  while  along  the  Rick  Rack  River 
during  a  violent  storm,  had  succeeded  in  rescuing 
a  man  and  his  son  who  were  caught  between  some 
rocks  and  a  drifting  tree  in  the  middle  of  the 
swiftly  flowing  stream. 

The  man,  John  Franklin,  was  exceedingly 
thankful  for  what  had  been  done  for  him,  and  so 
was  his  son  Philip.  It  developed  later  that  the 
Franklins  owned  a  tract  of  land  in  Texas.  And 
when  it  was  discovered  that  the  tract  inherited  by 
Dick  Rover  from  the  soldier  in  France  was  prac- 
tically worthless,  Jack's  father  made  an  arrange- 
ment to  work  the  Franklin  place  on  shares.  Two 
oil  wells  were  bored,  and  both  of  these  paid  hand- 
somely, making  the  Rovers  richer  than  ever  and 
also  placing  a  substantial  amount  in  the  bank  to 
John  Franklin's  account. 

"Do  you  know  I  can  scarcely  believe  it's  tn*e,'f 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS      21 

Phil  Franklin  had  said  to  the  Rover  boys.  "Why, 
my  father  will  have  more  money  than  he  ever 
dreamed  of." 

"We're  as  glad  as  you  are,  Phil,"  Jack  had  an- 
swered. "Glad  on  your  account  as  well  as  our 
own.  Now  maybe  you  can  go  to  Colby  Hall  with 
us." 

"Say,  that  would  be  immense!"  Phil  had  re- 
turned with  pleasure.  And  that  fall  he  had  joined 
the  crowd  at  the  military  academy  and  soon  made 
for  himself  a  host  of  friends. 

"Gee,  I  never  thought  going  to  school  could  be 
so  nice,"  declared  Phil  Franklin  to  the  Rover 
boys  one  day.  "I  always  considered  going  to 
school  a  hardship.  But  this  is  bang-up  in  every 
way." 

"I  guess  you  haven't  made  any  enemies  yet, 
Phil,"  remarked  Fred.  "Don't  forget  that  Nappy 
Martell,  Slugger  Brown,  and  Gabe  Werner  all 
hailed  from  here." 

"I've  met  only  one  fellow  that  I  don't  like,"  re- 
turned Phil  Franklin.  "That's  a  fellow  who  came 
in  the  day  I  did,  a  big,  tall,  lanky  chap  named 
Lester  Bangs." 

"Oh,  you  mean  Brassy  Bangs,"  broke  in  Randy. 
"I  know  that  fellow  only  too  well.  I  had  quite  a 
set-to  with  him  one  day  in  the  gym." 

"For  a  new  cadet  he's  certainly  pretty   for- 


Z2      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

ward,"  answered  Jack.  "I'm  glad  he  isn't  a  mem- 
ber of  my  company.  If  he  was  I  think  I'd  have  to 
call  him  down  more  than  once." 

"I  guess  Colby  Hall  is  bound  to  have  its  bul- 
lies," Andy  had  remarked  on  hearing  this.  "No 
sooner  do  we  get  rid  of  one  group  than  another 
appears.  They  seem  to  grow  like  weeds." 

During  the  fall  there  had  been  the  usual  foot- 
ball season  at  the  military  academy,  and  the  boys 
had  acquitted  themselves  quite  creditably,  winning 
seven  games  out  of  twelve.  Then  had  come  the 
brief  Christmas  holidays.  And  following  this 
the  lads  had  settled  down  once  more  into  the 
grind,  resolved  to  do  their  best  at  their  lessons. 
But,  of  course,  they  were  only  boys,  and  they  had 
to  have  their  fun,  and  occasionally  the  fun  went 
a  little  too  far  and  brought  forth  rather  disas- 
trous results,  as  we  have  just  seen. 


CHAPTER   III 

WHAT  THE  SNEAK  TOLD 

"I  CERTAINLY  didn't  think  that  snowball  would 
go  down  the  stairs  so  easily,"  remarked  Andy, 
when  he  and  the  other  Rovers  were  alone. 

"Keep  quiet,"  warned  Jack,  who  had  re- 
mained at  the  partly-opened  door.  "I  want  to 
hear  what  takes  place." 

"This  is  outrageous,  simply  outrageous!"  they 
heard  in  Snopper  Duke's  high-pitched  voice. 
"How  dared  you  roll  such  a  snowball  down  these 
stairs  ?  And  how  came  you  to  get  that  snowball 
up  there  anyway?" 

"Excuse  me,  Professor,  but  I  don't  know  what 
you're  talking  about,"  answered  another  voice; 
and  at  this  Jack  gave  a  slight  start,  for  he  recog- 
nized the  words  as  coming  from  Brassy  Bangs. 

"What  is  that?  You  do  not  know  anything 
about  the  big  snowball  that  just  came  hurtling 
down  these  stairs?"  stormed  Professor  Duke. 

"No,  sir.    I  just  reached  the  top  of  the  stairs/' 

23 


24      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

answered  Brassy  Bangs.  "I  came  out  of  my  room 
not  ten  seconds  ago." 

"What  do  you  know  about  this,  Stowell  ?"  went 
on  the  professor,  who  had  now  come  slowly  to 
the  top  of  the  stairs,  followed  by  Professor  Graw- 
son,  who  had  come  out  of  Colonel  Colby's  private 
office  where  he  had  been  looking  over  some  re- 
ports when  the  big  snowball  had  landed  with  a 
thump  against  the  desk  at  which  he  had  been 
seated. 

"Me?  What  do  you  mean?"  stammered  the 
youth  who  was  known  to  the  cadets  as  Codfish 
and  who  had  always  been  more  or  less  of  a  sneak. 

"Somebody  just  rolled  a  big  snowball  down  the 
stairs.  It  struck  me  and  nearly  knocked  me  flat," 
returned  the  irate  teacher. 

"Yes,  and  it  rolled  all  the  way  into  the  private 
office,"  added  Professor  Grawson. 

"I  don't  know  anything  about  any  snowballs," 
said  Codfish.  "I  noticed  the  floor  was  all  wet  and 
I  wondered  what  it  meant." 

"I  saw  some  fellows  rushing  around  the  cor- 
ner," came  from  Brassy  Bangs. 

"Who  were  they?"  demanded  Snopper  Duke. 

"I  don't  know." 

"Which  way  did  they  go?" 

"That  way,"  and  Brassy  pointed  out  the  direc- 
tion. 


WHAT  THE  SNEAK  TOLD  25 

By  this  time  the  two  professors  had  reached  the 
top  of  the  stairs  and  Grawson  was  looking  at  the 
water  marks  on  the  polished  floor. 

"Here  is  where  they  brought  that  big  snowball 
in,"  he  remarked,  pointing  to  the  track  that  led 
to  one  of  the  windows.  "They  must  have  brought 
it  up  on  the  fire-escape." 

"Here  are  several  other  tracks.  I  think  we  had 
better  follow  them,"  returned  Snopper  Duke 
quickly. 

The  track  leading  to  the  bathroom  was  most  in 
evidence,  and  the  two  professors  quickly  discov- 
ered the  big  snowball  resting  in.  the  bathtub. 

"Evidently  they  put  this  here  to  have  some  more 
fun  with,"  announced  Professor  Grawson  grimly. 
"Well,  it  won't  do  much  harm  here.  I'll  turn  on 
a  little  hot  water  and  it  will  soon  melt  and  run 
off,"  and  he  turned  on  the  faucet  as  he  spoke. 

From  the  bathroom  the  two  professors,  fol- 
lowed by  Codfish  and  Brassy,  followed  the  water 
trail  into  a  room  occupied  by  several  students  who 
were  particularly  uppish  and  whom  the  Rovers 
did  not  like,  and  here  some  more  of  the  snowballs 
were  found. 

"Here  is  another  trail,"  announced  Professor 
Duke,  and  in  a  moment  more  had  thrown  open 
the  door  leading  to  Stowell's  bedroom. 

"Here!  what  does  this  mean?"  stammered  Cod- 


26      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

fish,  as,  after  the  light  had  been  turned  on,  he  and 
the  others  saw  the  two  big  snowballs  resting  on 
either  side  of  the  bed. 

"Stowell,  you  must  have  had  something  to  do 
with  this,"  cried  Snopper  Duke  savagely. 

"No,  sir.  Not  at  all,  sir,"  answered  the  sneak 
in  a  trembling  voice.  "I  don't  know  a  thing 
about  it." 

"Where  did  you  come  from  just  now?" 

"I — I  came  up  the  back  stairs.  I  was  just  com- 
ing through  the  corridor  when  I  heard  the  noise 
and  came  to  see  what  it  meant." 

"The  back  stairs,  eh?"  put  in  Professor  Graw- 
son.  "What  were  you  doing  on  the  back  stairs 
this  time  in  the  evening?" 

"I — I  was  down  in  the  kitchen."  And  now 
Codfish  grew  pale. 

"And  what  called  you  to  the  kitchen?" 

"I — I  was  hungry,  and  so  I  asked  one  of  the 
servants  for  something  to  eat."  And  now  Cod- 
fish was  fairly  whining. 

"Humph !  didn't  you  have  any  supper  ?" 

"Yes,  sir.  But  I  wasn't  feeling  extra  well  just 
then  and  I  didn't  eat  very  much,  and  that  made 
me  hungry  afterwards.  And,  oh,  say!  I  guess  I 
can  tell  you  something  about  those  snowballs," 
and  Codfish's  face  lit  up  suddenly. 

"What  do  you  know  ?" 


WHAT  THE  SNEAK  TOLD  27 

"When  I  was  passing  through  the  little  entry- 
way  that  leads  into  the  kitchen  I  happened  to 
glance  out  of  the  window  and  I  saw  four  or  five 
fellows  down  at  the  foot  of  the  fire-escape." 

"What  were  they  doing?" 

"When  I  looked  at  them  they  were  just  talking 
among  themselves.  I  only  looked  for  a  moment 
because  I  was  in  a  hurry  to  get  to  the  kitchen 
and  get  back  again." 

"Did  you  recognize  any  of  the  cadets?" 

Af  this  direct  question,  Codfish  hesitated  and 
showed  that  he  felt  far  from  comfortable. 

"I  don't  like  to  tell  on  anybody,"  he  whined. 
"If  I  do  that  they'll  be  sure  to  lick  me  later  on — 
I  know  they  will !" 

"You  tell  me  who  they  were  and  I'll  see  to  it 
that  they  do  not  harm  you,"  put  in  Professor 
Duke  quickly. 

"I  only  saw  two  of  the  fellows  real  plainly," 
answered  Stowell.  "They  were  standing  in  the 
light  from  one  of  the  windows." 

"And  who  were  they?  Tell  me!  I  want  no 
nonsense  now,"  and  Snopper  Duke  caught  the 
sneak  firmly  by  the  shoulder. 

"Ouch!  Please  don't  hurt  me!"  cried  Cod- 
fish, in  added  alarm. 

"Then  answer  me!" 

"The  two  fellows  I  recognized  were  Captain 


28      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

Jack    Rover   and   his   cousin,    Lieutenant    Fred 
Rover." 

"You  didn't  know  the  others?"  put  in  Profes- 
sor Grawson. 

"No,  sir.     I  didn't  see  them  well  enough. 
They  were  all  in  the  shadows." 

"I'll  investigate  this,"  cried  Professor  Duke. 
"Stowell,  you  come  with  me." 

"Oh,  please  don't  make  me  come!"  cried  the 
sneak.  "They'll  almost  kill  me  if  they  find  I  gave 
them  away!" 

"They  sha'n't  touch  you." 

"Oh,  I  know  what  they'll  do,"  moaned  Cod- 
fish. He  had  not  forgotten  how  the  Rover  boys 
had  sided  with  him  on  more  than  one  perilous 
occasion,  and  it  scared  him  half  to  death  to  think 
what  they  might  do  when  they  discovered  how 
meanly  he  was  acting. 

But  there  was  no  help  for  it,  and  Codfish  was 
marched  along  between  the  two  professors,  with 
Brassy  and  a  number  of  other  cadets,  who  had 
been  attracted  by  the  noise  and  the  talk,  follow- 
ing. 

Meanwhile  the  four  Rover  boys  had  listened  to 
as  much  of  the  conversation  as  they  could  catch. 

"They  went  into  Codfish's  room — they  are  fol- 
lowing the  trail  of  the  water  on  the  floor,"  an- 
nounced Jack. 


WHAT  THE  SNEAK  TOLD  29 

"Some  of  the  other  fellows  are  coming  out  and 
coming  upstairs,"  announced  Fred.  "Let  us  go 
out  too  and  see  what  happens." 

"Maybe  they'll  accuse  Codfish  of  this,"  re- 
marked Randy,  with  a  grin. 

The  four  Rovers  had  just  come  out  in  the  cor- 
ridor and  been  joined  by  Gif,  Phil,  and  Spouter 
when  they  found  themselves  suddenly  confronted 
by  Professor  Duke,  with  Professor  Grawson  and 
poor  Codfish  directly  behind  him. 

"So  this  is  your  work,  is  it?"  demanded  Snop- 
per  Duke,  glaring  angrily  at  Jack  and  Fred  in 
turn. 

"To  what  do  you  refer,  Professor?"  asked 
Jack,  as  calmly  as  he  could. 

"You  know  well  enough,  Captain  Rover.  It  is 
useless  for  you  to  deny  it,"  stormed  the  angry 
teacher.  "You  and  your  cousins  here  are  respon- 
sible for  bringing  those  big  snowballs  into  the 
school." 

"Who  says  so  ?"  questioned  Fred.  At  the  same 
time  he  gave  Codfish  a  look  that  made  the  sneak 
want  to  hide  himself. 

"Never  mind  who  says  so.  We  know  it  to  be 
a  fact,"  stormed  Snopper  Duke.  "Will  you  kind- 
ly let  me  know  what  you  mean  by  such  outrageous 
conduct  ?" 

"Is  it  so  very  outrageous,  Professor,  to  bring  a 


30      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

few  snowballs  into  the  school  ?"  questioned  Randy 
innocently. 

"We've  often  brought  snow  into  the  school," 
put  in  Andy.  "We  used  to  use  it  for  making  a 
sort  of  home-made  ice-cream — with  milk  and 
sugar  and  a  little  flavoring,  you  know." 

"Colonel  Colby  or  Captain  Dale  never  ordered 
us  to  leave  the  snow  outdoors,"  added  Fred,  and 
at  this  there  was  a  snicker  from  among  a  number 
of  the  cadets  who  were  gathered. 

"I  will  not  listen  to  such  nonsense,"  stormed 
Snopper  Duke.  "You  four  brought  those  snow- 
balls into  this  school,  and  some  of  you  kicked  that 
snowball  down  the  stairs  on  top  of  me,"  he  added, 
glaring  at  them. 

"I  want  to  say  right  now,  Professor  Duke,  that 
that  big  snowball  went  downstairs  by  accident," 
answered  Andy,  feeling  that  there  was  no  help  for 
it  and  that  he  must  make  a  clean  breast  of  the  mat- 
ter. "We  were  rolling  it  down  the  corridor  when 
all  at  once  I  slipped  in  a  puddle  of  water  and  both 
my  feet  struck  the  snowball  and  sent  it  on  its 
way  down  the  stairs.  But  we  didn't  mean  to  send 
it  down ;  I  can  give  you  my  word  on  that." 

"I  don't  believe  it,"  stormed  Snopper  Duke. 

"I'm  telling  you  the  truth,  sir." 

"Perhaps  Rover  didn't  mean  to  send  the  snow-= 
ball  downstairs,"  put  in  Professor  Grawson  mild- 


WHAT  THE  SNEAK  TOLD  31 

ly.  As  a  general  thing  he  sided  with  the  cadets 
and  they  had  little  difficulty  in  getting  along  with 
him. 

"Mr.  Grawson,  I  was  the  one  to  suffer  through 
this  outrageous  trick,"  fumed  Snopper  Duke. 
"And  you  will  kindly  permit  me  to  handle  the  af- 
fair. These  four  cadets  are  guilty  and  must  be 
punished." 

"I  agree  it  is  more  your  affair  than  mine,  Mr. 
Duke,"  returned  the  other  teacher.  "But  don't 
you  think  it  would  be  wise  to  let  the  matter  rest 
until  Colonel  Colby  comes  back  from  the  city?" 

"Not  at  all!  Not  at  all!  These  young  ras- 
cals must  be  taken  in  hand,  and  at  once.  Other- 
wise our  authority  in  this  institution  will  go  to 
pieces." 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  movement  among 
the  students  who  had  collected  in  the  corridor, 
and  Gif  and  Spouter  stepped  forward. 

"Excuse  me,  Professor  Duke,"  said  Gif.  "But 
I  had  as  much  to  do  with  bringing  those  snow- 
balls upstairs  as  anybody." 

"And  so  did  I,"  added  Spouter. 

"And  I  was  in  on  the  deal,  too,"  came  from 
Phil  Franklin,  as  he  too  stepped  forward. 

"What?  All  of  you?"  demanded  Snopper 
Duke,  eyeing  them  coldly. 

"I  can  assure  you  we  meant  no  great  harm," 


32      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

continued  Spouter.  "We  were  only  going  to  have 
a  little  fun  among  ourselves  and  with  our  fellow- 
cadets — that  is,  mostly,"  he  added  somewhat 
lamely,  as  he  remembered  what  had  been  said 
about  placing  some  of  the  snowballs  in  the  teach- 
er's room. 

"Were  any  others  implicated  in  this  despicable 
piece  of  business?"  demanded  Professor  Duke, 
looking  around  at  the  assembled  cadets.  "Answer 
me  at  once!" 

There  was  no  reply  to  this,  the  cadets  simply 
looking  at  each  other  ^uestioningly. 

"We're  all  here,  sir,"  said  Jack.  "There  were 
no  others."  And  he  and  his  cousins  gave  their 
chums  a  warm  look  to  show  they  appreciated 
their  coming  forward  to  take  a  share  of  the 
blame. 

"Seven  of  you,  eh?"  was  the  teacher's  sour 
comment.  "A  fine  piece  of  business,  truly."  He 
thought  for  a  moment.  "Come  with  me,  all  of 
you,  and  we'll  see  what  damage  has  been  done 
down  in  the  office." 

The  assembled  cadets  made  a  passageway,  and 
through  this  filed  the  Rovers  and  their  chums 
with  Professor  Duke  following  close  on  their 
heels.  Professor  Grawson  remained  behind  to 
talk  to  Stowell. 

"They'll  kill  me  for  this— I  know  they  will !" 


WHAT  THE  SNEAK  TOLD  33 

^vhined  Codfish.  And  now  he  was  on  the  verge 
of  tears. 

"I  don't  think  the  Rovers  will  touch  you,  Sto- 
well — I  don't  think  they're  that  class  of  boys," 
answered  Professor  Grawson.  "Come.  I'll  go 
to  your  room  with  you  and  help  you  throw  those 
snowballs  out  of  the  window."  He  had  not  for- 
gotten that  he  had  been  a  schoolboy  himself  once, 
and  he  had  small  sympathy  for  such  a  sneak  as 
Henry  Stowell. 

Down  in  Colonel  Colby's  private  office  it  was 
found  that  the  big  snowball  had  done  little  dam- 
age outside  of  wetting  a  couple  of  the  rugs.  What 
was  left  of  the  snowball  had  been  gathered  up  by 
Pud  Hicks,  the  janitor's  assistant,  and  now  he 
was  mopping  up  the  floor. 

"I'll  take  the  rugs  and  dry  'em  in  the  laundry," 
said  Hicks.  "I  think  they'll  be  all  right  by  morn- 
ing." 

"You  cadets  remain  here  until  I  return,"  said 
Professor  Duke,  when  Hicks  was  ready  to  de- 
part. And  then  he  went  outside  and  in  the  hall- 
way held  a  whispered  conversation  with  the  jani- 
tor's assistant. 

"I  guess  we're  in  for  it,"  said  Jack  to  his  cous- 
ins and  his  chums. 

"What  do  you  suppose  they'll  do  with  us?" 
questioned  Phil. 


34      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know." 

In  a  few  minutes  Snopper  Duke  returned,  and 
there  was  a  grin  of  satisfaction  in  his  eyes  as  he 
faced  the  cadets. 

"You  will  all  follow  me,"  he  declared,  "and  I'll 
show  you  what  can  be  done  in  this  school  to  cadets 
who  act  as  outrageously  as  you  have  acted. 
Come !  March !"  and  he  led  the  way  out  of  the 
private  office. 


CHAPTER   IV 

PRISONERS 

IN  ONE  of  the  wings  of  the  school  building 
there  was  located  a  room  about  twelve  feet  square 
with  one  window  which  was  barred,  and  this,  as 
my  old  readers  know,  was  known  officially  as  the 
school  guardroom  or  prison.  Jack  and  Fred  had 
once  been  prisoners  in  this  guardroom  on  a 
charge  that  was  afterwards  proved  to  be  false. 

"Gee !  I  wonder  if  he's  going  to  take  us  to  the 
guardroom?"  whispered  the  youngest  of  the 
Rovers. 

"I  don't  see  how  he  can  crowd  seven  of  us  into 
that  small  room,"  answered  Randy.  "Why,  it's 
only  got  one  cot  in  it !" 

Professor  Duke  led  the  way  through  the  cor- 
ridor and  up  the  broad  stairs.  In  the  meanwhile 
Professor  Grawson  had  ordered  the  other  cadets 
to  their  rooms,  so  there  was  no  one  at  hand  to 
witness  what  was  taking  place. 

Arriving  on  the  second  floor,  Snopper  Duke 

35 


36      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

fed  the  way  into  another  corridor  and  then  up  a 
somewhat  narrow  stairway  leading  to  the  third 
floor. 

"Hello !  I  wonder  where  he's  going  to  take  us 
now?"  questioned  Fred  in  wonder. 

"This  is  certainly  a  new  wrinkle,"  declared  Gif. 

The  third  floor  was  but  dimly  lit  until  the  pro- 
fessor turned  on  more  light.  Then  he  turned  into 
a  little  side  corridor  at  the  end  of  which  was  lo- 
cated a  long,  narrow  room  which,  during  the  pre- 
vious year,  had  been  used  by  some  of  the  hired 
help  but  which  was  now  unoccupied. 

"You  will  remain  in  this  room  until  I  have  a 
chance  to  communicate  with  Colonel  Colby,"  said 
Professor  Duke,  as  he  marched  the  cadets  in. 
"And  remember!  I  want  no  cutting  up  here.  I 
want  you  to  remain  perfectly  quiet." 

"How  long  shall  we  have  to  stay  here?"  ques- 
tioned Jack. 

"That  will  depend  on  what  Colonel  Colby  has 
to  say  about  it,"  was  the  sharp  answer. 

"Do  you  expect  us  to  stay  here  all  night?"  de- 
manded Randy. 

"You  will  have  to  stay  here  unless  Colonel  Col- 
by gets  back  from  the  city,  and  I  think  that  hardly 
likely  to-night,"  answered  the  teacher.  "Now  re- 
member! No  noise  and  no  horseplay  or  I'll  do 
something  that  you  won't  forget  in  a  hurry,"  and 


PRISONERS  37 

with  this  admonition  he  walked  out  of  the  room, 
closing  and  locking  the  door  after  him. 

"Listen !"  cried  Fred,  as  all  of  the  others  start- 
ed to  talk  at  once.  And  going  to  the  door,  he 
listened  intently,  and  so  did  the  others,  and  they 
heard  Snopper  Duke  pass  threugh  the  little  cor- 
ridor and  down  the  stairs. 

"He's  gone,  all  right  enough,"  remarked  Phil 
Franklin. 

"Well,  what  do  you  know  about  this,  anyhow!" 
cried  Gif. 

"I  think  he's  treating  us  like  a  lot  of  children," 
declared  Andy  angrily. 

"I  don't  believe  he  has  any  right  to  keep  us  out 
of  our  regular  rooms,"  came  from  his  brother. 

"Well,  anyway,  he  took  the  right,"  answered 
Jack  grimly.  "And  what  is  more,  he  se.ems  to 
have  the  best  of  us." 

"He  won't  have  if  we  break  down  that  door." 

"I  don't  think  you'll  have  an  easy  job  of  it 
breaking  down  that  door,"  put  in  Spouter.  "I 
happened  to  notice  that  there  was  not  only  a 
regular  lock  on  it,  but  also  a  top  bolt.  You'd 
have  to  smash  the  whole  door  to  get  out.  But 
it  certainly  is  a  despicable  piece  of  business," 
Spouter  continued.  "And  at  the  first  opportu- 
nity we  have  we'll  have  to  lay  the  whole  case  be- 
fore Colonel  Colby.  I'm  sure  when  he  has  verified 


38      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

our  report,  and  gone  into  the  various  merits  of  the 
case,  he  will  make  a  finding  that  will  be  in  ac- 
cordance with "  . 

"Gee!  Spouter  can  spout  even  if  he  is  a  pris- 
oner," burst  out  Randy.  "Better  get  up  on  a 
chair,  Spouter,  and  make  a  regular  speech  about 
it,"  he  continued,  grinning. 

"This  is  a  new  experience  for  me,"  remarked 
Phil,  with  a  smile.  "I  never  thought  I  was  go- 
ing to  be  put  in  jail." 

"You  can  hardly  call  it  being  put  in  jail,  Phil," 
answered  Jack.  "In  a  military  academy  it  is  quite 
common  for  a  cadet,  when  he  has  broken  the 
rules  and  regulations,  to  be  placed  in  the  guard- 
house, just  the  same  as  he  is  placed  in  the  guard- 
house in  the  regular  army." 

"I  thought  maybe  they'd  make  us  do  what  they 
call  police  duty,"  said  the  boy  from  Texas.  "One 
fellow  told  me  that  while  he  was  in  the  training 
camp  he  overstepped  the  regulations  and  they 
made  him  peel  potatoes  until  he  was  sick  and 
tired  of  seeing  them." 

"Well,  they  do  that  too,"  put  in  Fred.  "You 
might  have  to  do  something  like  that  if  we  were 
at  the  annual  encampment.  But  while  the  school 
session  is  on  all  they  do  is  to  lock  you  up." 

The  boys  found  that  the  long  narrow  room  con- 
tained two  double  beds  and  two  cots,  as  well  as  a 


PRISONERS  39 

couple  of  bureaus,  several  stools,  and  a  table.  At 
one  end  was  a  small  bathroom  and  a  clothing 
closet.  There  were  three  small  windows  in  a 
row,  all  looking  out  on  the  snow-covered  fields 
behind  the  school. 

"Well,  we've  got  a  place  to  sleep,  anyhow,"  an- 
nounced Jack.  "Although  three  of  us  will  have 
to  sleep  in  one  of  the  beds." 

"Not  much  in  the  way  of  covering,"  remarked 
Gif,  who  had  been  making  an  investigation. 
"Just  one  thin  blanket  on  each  bed.  And  that 
radiator  is  not  letting  out  heat  enough  to  warm 
a  cat,"  he  added,  as  he  placed  his  hand  on  the 
one  small  radiator  of  which  the  long  bedroom 
boasted. 

"Never  mind,  we  can  keep  on  our  uniforms  if 
we  want  to,"  declared  Randy.  "And  who  knows 
but  what  Colonel  Colby  may  come  back  at  any 
minute,  and  then  I'm  almost  certain  that  he'll  let 
us  go  back  to  our  own  rooms." 

"He  will  unless  old  Duke  cooks  up  some  dread- 
ful story  against  us,"  came  from  his  brother. 
"You  can  bet  he'll  make  out  as  black  a  case 
against  us  as  he  can." 

"Yes.  But  I  think  Professor  Grawson  will 
have  something  to  say  too,"  said  Jack.  "And  he 
has  always  been  a  very  fair-minded  man." 

"I  don't  see  why  Colonel  Colby  took  on  such  a 


40      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

man  as  Snopper  Duke,"  declared  Spouter.  "He's 
every  bit  as  bad  as  Asa  Lemm  was." 

"But  you've  got  to  hand  it  to  him  for  being  a 
very  well  educated  man,"  said  Jack.  "And  he 
certainly  knows  how  to  teach  when  he's  in  the 
humor  for  it." 

"I  don't  think  a  man  who  is  as  harsh-minded 
as  he  is  ought  to  be  a  teacher,"  was  Gif's  com- 
ment. "He  can't  get  a  cadet  to  do  his  best  if  he's 
forever  nagging  at  him.  Now,  if  I  was  a  teacher, 
I'd  do  my  best  to  gain  my  pupils'  confidence." 

There  was  a  pause,  and  presently  Andy  began 
to  chuckle. 

"Say,  he  certainly  did  look  funny  when  that 
big  snowball  hit  him  in  the  stomach  and  nearly 
knocked  him  over,"  he  cried. 

"How  could  you  see  that  when  you  were  on 
your  back  ?"  questioned  Fred. 

"Oh,  I  managed  to  flop  over  and  look  down 
the  stairs  just  in  time.  He  was  some  sight,  be- 
lieve me.  It's  a  wonder  he  didn't  go  over  back- 
ward to  the  floor  below.  I  don't  know  what 
saved  him.  He  must  have  grabbed  the  banisters 
just  in  time." 

"You  can't  really  blame  him  for  being  mad.  I 
think  maybe  I'd  be  mad  myself,"  said  Gif. 
"However,  let's  drop  that.  What  are  we  going 
to  do?  Go  to  bed?" 


PRISONERS  41 

"I  don't  see  that  there  is  anything  else  to  do," 
answered  Jack. 

"I've  got  to  do  something  to  keep  warm,"  de- 
clared Andy,  and  suddenly  turned  a  somersault 
over  one  of  the  beds.  Then  he  began  to  box  with 
his  brother,  and  the  two  spun  around  from  one 
end  of  the  room  to  the  other. 

"Here!  you  stop  that,"  warned  Fred.  "You 
know  what  Duke  said.  You  keep  on  and  he'll 
put  us  down  in  the  cellar  or  some  other  worse 
place." 

After  this  the  seven  cadets  became  more  quiet, 
and,  sitting  as  close  as  possible  to  the  little  radi- 
ator which  gave  forth  only  a  mite  of  warmth,  they 
discussed  the  situation  for  half  an  hour  longer. 

"That's  another  one  against  Codfish,"  declared 
Randy.  "I'm  sure  he's  guilty." 

"Well,  he  had  some  reason  for  saying  what  he 
did,"  said  Jack.  "He  had  to  clear  his  own  skirts 
after  they  found  those  two  big  snowballs  in  his 
room." 

"Just  the  same,  Jack,  you  know  well  enough 
hardly  any  other  fellow  in  the  school  would  have 
squealed,"  cried  Randy.  "Codfish  always  was  a 
sneak,  and  I  guess  he  always  will  be,  no  matter 
what  some  of  the  other  fellows  do  for  him." 

"Say,  look  here!  I  thought  you  fellows  told 
me  that  Captain  Dale  was  in  charge  of  this  school 


42      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

whenever  Colonel  Colby  was  absent,"  burst  out 
Phil  suddenly. 

"That's  true,"  answered  Jack.  "He  was  in 
charge  all  the  time  the  colonel  was  in  the  regular 
army." 

"Then  why  didn't  Professor  Duke  put  this  up 
to  the  captain?" 

"Because  Captain  Dale  is  away  on  a  little  va- 
cation," announced  Gif.  "He  won't  be  back  until 
some  time  next  week." 

"And  where  did  Colonel  Colby  go?" 

"They  said  he  had  gone  to  the  city,"  answered 
Fred.  "But  I  don't  know  what  they  mean  by 
that.  They  may  mean  Boston,  or  New  York,  or 
some  smaller  place." 

"The  radiator  is  growing  stone  cold,"  declared 
Gif,  who  had  his  hands  on  it. 

"What'll  you  bet  old  Duke  didn't  turn  the  heat 
off?"  broke  in  Andy  quickly.  "It  would  be  just 
like  him  to  do  it." 

"I  guess  about  the  only  thing  we  can  do  is  to 
go  to  bed,"  announced  Jack. 

"Well,  you  had  better  do  it  with  your  uniform 
on,  then,"  said  Spouter.  "Because  I'm  not  going 
to  bed  with  the  windows  closed,  and  it's  going  to 
be  beautifully  cold  by  and  by." 

All  of  the  cadets  had  been  accustomed  to  sleep- 
ing with  the  windows  of  their  bedrooms  open. 


PRISONERS  43 

But  they  had  also  been  accustomed  to  plenty  of 
bed  clothing,  and  knew  they  would  probably  suf- 
fer with  the  scant  quantity  of  quilts  now  provided. 

However,  they  had  to  make  the  best  of  it,  and 
in  the  end  did  little  else  but  take  off  their  shoes 
and  coats  and  then  wrap  themselves  in  the  blank- 
ets as  best  they  could.  Of  course,  there  was  some 
horseplay  in  which  even  Phil  Franklin  indulged. 
But  on  the  whole  the  cadets  kept  rather  quiet,  for 
they  did  not  want  to  make  matters  worse  than 
they  were. 

"The  last  time  Randy  and  I  were  home  our  dad 
laid  down  the  law  good  and  plenty,"  announced 
Andy.  "So  we've  got  to  do  something  towards 
toeing  the  mark." 

"I'm  afraid  Brassy  Bangs  and  a  lot  of  the  other 
fellows  will  have  the  laugh  on  us  for  this,"  re- 
marked Fred,  as  he  turned  in. 

"Oh,  well,  you  can't  have  fun  without  paying 
the  piper  once  in  a  while,"  was  Jack's  comment 

It  grew  colder  during  the  night,  and  on  rising 
to  cut  off  some  of  the  air  that  was  blowing  over 
him,  Fred  noticed  that  it  had  begun  to  snow.  The 
fine  hard  particles  were  drifting  into  the  room, 
and  he  called  the  attention  of  some  of  the  others 


"1  don't  care.     Let  it  snow  in  if  it  wants  to, 
$V'4mbled  Randy  sleepily. 


44      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

But  some  of  the  others  demurred  to  this,  and 
presently  one  of  the  windows  was  closed  entirely 
and  the  otherr  left  open  only  a  few  inches. 

"Gee,  talk  about  Greenland's  icy  mountains!" 
exclaimed  Gif,  on  arising  a  little  after  seven 
o'clock.  "Some  coldness,  it  you  ask  me!" 

"You  said  it!'  declared  Jack,  as  he  got  up  and 
walked  across  the  floor  to  where  the  radiator  was 
located.  "Cold  as  ice !"  he  announced. 

"Did  you  leave  it  turned  on?"  questioned 
Randy  quickly. 

"I  certainly  did." 

"Then  old  Duke  must  intend  to  freeze  us  out !" 
exclaimed  Fred.  "What  do  you  know  about 
that!" 

"I  know  it's  a  mean  piece  of  business,"  an- 
swered Andy.  "Gee !  why,  we  might  all  catch  our 
death  of  cold." 

Having  washed  themselves,  the  cadets  lost  no 
time  in  donning  the  clothing  they  had  taken  off  on 
retiring.  Then  they  continued  to  walk  around 
the  narrow  room  in  order  to  keep  their  blood  in 
circulation.  It  was  novr  about  eight  o'clock,  and 
they  wondered  if  they  would  get  any  breakfast. 

"A  hot  cup  of  cocoa  or  coffee  wouldn't  go  bad," 
remarked  Spouter.  "Not  to  say  anything  about 
ham  and  eggs,  hot  muffins,  or  a  few  other  things 
on  the  side." 


PRISONERS  45 

"Yum,  yum!  don't  mention  them,"  groaned 
Andy.  "I  feel  hollow  clean  down  to  my  shoes. 
I  didn't  have  any  too  much  supper,  and  I  was  de- 
pending on  having  a  few  crackers  I  had  in  my 
closet." 

"And  I  left  an  apple  on  my  bureau,"  declared 
Phil. 

"And  I  had  two  doughnuts  stored  away  to  take 
to  bed  with  me,"  came  from  Fred. 

The  boys  heard  the  cadets  below  assembling 
for  roll  call  and  the  short  morning  parade,  and 
then  heard  them  march  into  the  mess  room  of 
the  Hall  for  breakfast. 

"My !  but  I  wish  I  was  downstairs  right  now," 
declared  Randy.  "I  wouldn't  do  a  thing  to  that 
breakfast  table!" 

"Maybe  they'll  bring  our  breakfast  to  us,"  sug- 
gested Jack. 

"If  they  do  you  can  bet  there  won't  be  any  too 
much  of  it — if  old  Duke  has  anything  to  do  with 
it,"  returned  Gif  grimly. 


feY  THE  FISHING-POLE  ROUTE 

ANOTHER  half  hour  went  by,  and  the  boys  con- 
fined in  the  room  on  the  third  floor  of  the  school 
building  became  more  and  more  impatient. 

"Perhaps  they  won't  give  us  any  breakfast  at 
all,"  said  Phil  Franklin  presently. 

"If  they  don't  there'll  be  war,"  declared  Andy. 
"I  won't  stand  for  being  starved." 

"None  of  us  wiM  stand  for  that,"  put  in  Gif 
grimly.  "But  I  don't  believe  Duke  will  dare  do 
it.  You  must  remember  he  will  have  all  the  other 
teachers  to  contend  with.  They  have  the  same 
rights  here  as  he  has." 

"Yes,  but  Professor  Grawson  turned  this  af- 
fair over  to  Duke,"  was  Fred's  comment. 

"That  was  because  old  Duke  was  the  only  one 
to  really  suffer  through  what  we  did,"  answered 
Jack. 

Another  fifteen  minutes  passed,  and  then  those 
in  the  room  heard  footsteps  outside.  The  door 
;was  unlocked  and  Professor  Duke  appeared,  fol- 


BY  THE  FISHING  POLE  ROUTE  47 

lowed  by  Pud  Hicks  and  Bob  Nixon  and  two  of 
the  mess-room  waiters. 

"Well,  did  you  behave  yourselves  during  the 
night?"  demanded  the  teacher,  as  he  glanced 
sharply  from  one  to  another  of  the  cadets,  all  of 
whom  eyed  him  curiously. 

"We  did,  sir,"  answered  Phil,  who  was  near- 
est to  the  door. 

Leaving  those  who  had  accompanied  him  at 
the  door  so  that  none  of  the  cadets  present  might 
escape,  Snopper  Duke  strode  into  the  room  and 
looked  around  suspiciously,  even  going  so  far  as 
to  glance  into  the  bathroom  and  the  clothing 
closet.  As  was  the  custom  during  the  school 
term,  the  cadets  had  put  the  beds  and  the  cots  in 
order,  and  also  arranged  the  chairs  and  other 
furniture. 

"Professor  Duke,  I'd  like  to  ask  something.  Do 
you  know  we  have  no  heat  in  here?"  questioned 
Jack. 

"Growing  boys  like  you  don't  need  too  much 
heat — it  makes  them  lazy,"  responded  the  teacher 
tartly.  "You  will  be  warm  enough  after  you 
have  had  your  breakfast." 

"Can  we  go  downstairs  now  and  get  it?"  asked 
Andy  quickly. 

"No.  You  are  to  have  it  up  here.  I  have  had 
it  brought  up  for  you,"  was  the  answer.  And 


48      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

then  Profesor  Duke  motioned  for  the  two  waiters 
to  come  in. 

They  carried  two  trays  covered  with  napkins, 
and  these  they  deposited  on  the  table. 

"Has  Colonel  Colby  come  back  yet?"  ques- 
tioned Spouter. 

"You  will  know  quickly  enough  when  he 
comes,"  was  the  teacher's  reply.  And  then  he 
motioned  the  waiters  out  of  the  room. 

"Professor,  do  you  think "  began  Bob 

Nixon.  But  the  teacher  caught  the  Hall  chauf- 
feur by  the  arm  and  pushed  him  out  into  the 
hallway. 

"Never  mind  now,  Nixon,"  he  broke  in  hastily. 
"We'll  talk  matters  over  downstairs."  And 
thereupon  he  closed  and  locked  the  door  once 
again,  and  the  cadets  heard  him  and  all  of  the 
others  go  below. 

"What  do  you  suppose  he  brought  Hicks  and 
Nixon  up  here  for?"  questioned  Randy,  when 
they  were  left  alone. 

"I  don't  know,  unless  he  thought  we  might  try 
to  break  out,  and  if  so  he  would  have  them  along 
to  stop  us,"  answered  Jack. 

"Maybe  he  thought  the  cold  and  waiting  for 
breakfast  would  make  us  desperate,"  suggested 
Gif.  "However,  now  they've  gone,  let's  see  what 
they  have  brought  us  to  eat." 


BY  THE  FISHING  POLE  ROUTE  49 

Eagerly  the  seven  cadets  whipped  away  the 
napkins  that  covered  the  two  trays.  They  gave 
one  look,  and  then  a  cry  of  disappointment  arose. 

"What  do  you  know  about  this!" 

"Isn't  this  the  limit !" 

"Black  coffee  and  bread  without  butter!" 

"And  mush  with  nothing  but  a  little  molasses 
on  it!" 

"And  no  sugar  in  the  coffee,  either!" 

"Talk  about  your  prison  fare !"  groaned  Andy. 
"I  think  this  takes  the  cake !" 

"You  mention  cake  and  I'll  murder  you !"  burst 
out  Fred.  "Why  don't  you  speak  of  ham  and 
eggs,  lamb  chops,  fried  potatoes,  coffee  cake  with 
raisins  in  it,  and  things  like  that  while  you're 
at  it?" 

"Wow !  Fred  for  the  water  faucet !"  exclaimed 
Jack,  and  got  his  cousin  by  the  arm  and  made  as 
if  to  run  him  into  the  bathroom. 

"Hold  up!  I'll  be  good!"  pleaded  the  young- 
est Rover.  "But,  say!  doesn't  looking  at  these 
two  trays  make  you  weary  in  the  bones?" 

"Well,  anyway,  the  coffee  is  hot,"  declared 
Spouter,  as  he  tasted  it.  "And  we  might  as  well 
drink  it  before  it  gets  cold.  It  will  help  to  warm 
us  up." 

Thereupon  the  seven  cadets  fell  to  eating,  and 
soon  every  particle  of  the  scanty  breakfast  fur- 


50      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

nished  to  them  had  disappeared.  They  grum- 
bled, however,  as  they  ate,  and  continued  to 
grumble  after  the  repast  was  finished. 

"I'm  quite  sure  Colonel  Colby  wouldn't  treat 
us  like  this,"  declared  Gif. 

"He  certainly  did  much  better  by  Fred  and  me 
when  we  were  placed  in  the  guardroom,"  de- 
clared Jack.  "We  got  as  good  a  meal  as  we  ever 
had  served  to  us  in  the  mess  hall." 

"It's  nothing  short  of  a  crime  not  to  turn  the 
heat  on,"  said  Fred,  who  was  examining  the  ra- 
diator again.  "Just  as  cold  as  ever." 

"Listen !"  cried  Randy  suddenly. 

All  did  so,  and  heard  a  faint  knocking  on  the 
door. 

"Who  is  that?"  questioned  Jack,  moving  to  the 
portal. 

"Is  that  you,  Jack?"  came  in  Fatty  Hendry's 
voice.  The  stout  youth  was  whispering  through 
the  keyhole. 

"Yes,  Fatty.    What  brought  you  up  here?" 

"I  got  wind  that  you  fellows  were  being  fed 
scanty  rations,"  answered  Fatty.  "How  about 
it?" 

"It's  true,  all  right  enough." 

"Well,  Dan  Soppinger,  Walt  Baxter  and  my- 
self got  our  heads  together  and  we  managed  to 
make  up  a  bundle  of  food  for  you.  Just  watch 


"OUR  FRIENDS  ARE  ON  THE  JOB!  "    CRIED  FRED 

DELIGHTEDLY. 
The  Rover  Boys  at  Btf  Horn  Ranch. 


51 


BY  THE  FISHING  P&LE  ROUTE  51 

the  window  on  your  right,"  continued  the  stout 
youth,  and  then  tiptoed  away. 

Wondering  what  their  friends  intended  to  do, 
the  seven  cadets  crowded  to  the  window  in  ques- 
tion and  opened  it  wide.  It  was  still  snowing, 
and  through  the  thickly-flying  flakes  they  pres- 
ently saw  the  end  of  a  fishing  pole  on  which  was 
tied  a  bundle  done  up  in  a  pillow  case. 

"Hurrah!  Our  friends  are  on  the  job,"  cried 
Fred  delightedly,  as  the  bundle  was  slipped  from 
the  end  of  the  fishing  pole  and  hauled  into  the 
room.  Then  he  looked  out  of  the  window  and 
saw  at  a  little  distance  the  face  of  Dan  Soppinger 
at  another  window. 

"Got  it  all  right,  did  you?"  demanded  Dan,  as 
he  hauled  in  the  fishing  pole. 

'We  sure  did,  Dan;  and  much  obliged  to  you." 

"Has  Colonel  Colby  come  back  yet?"  ques- 
tioned Jack,  looking  over  his  cousin's  shoulder. 

"No.  And  there  is  no  telling  when  he'll  come 
back,"  answered  Dan.  "He  sent  word  that  his 
business  might  keep  him  away  for  several  days." 
Then  Dan  spoke  to  some  one  behind  him,  and 
continued  in  a  low  voice,  "I've  got  to  go  now,  or 
they'll  catch  us.  Good-bye." 

The  imprisoned  cadets  closed  the  window 
again  and  then  placed  the  bundle  on  the  table  and 
opened  it.  They  found  it  contained  a  rather 


?2      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

v 

jumbled  collection  of  buttered  bread,  cheese,  the 
knuckle  of  a  boiled  ham,  a  small  glass  full  of 
jelly,  a  square  of  pound  cake,  three  bananas,  a 
couple  of  oranges,  several  apples,  a  small  bag  of 
lump  sugar,  and  a  can  of  condensed  milk. 

"Some  collection,  all  right  enough,"  declared 
Spouter,  as  they  surveyed  it.  "I  guess  they 
grabbed  up  anything  they  could  lay  their  hands 
on." 

"They  must  have  heard  we  had  black  coffee 
without  sugar,"  put  in  Fred.  "Too  bad  we  were 
in  such  a  hurry.  We  might  have  feasted  in  great 
shape  off  of  this  collection." 

"Never  mind.  The  sugar  and  condensed  milk 
may  come  in  handy  later,"  answered  Jack. 

The  boys  divided  some  of  the  fruit,  and  then 
made  themselves  a  few  sandwiches,  and  with  this 
topped  off  the  scanty  breakfast  they  had  previ- 
ously consumed.  They  placed  the  rest  of  the 
things  on  the  top  shelf  of  the  closet  and  folded 
up  the  pillow  case  carefully. 

"We'll  have  to  send  that  back  the  first  chance 
we  get,"  declared  Fred.  "Otherwise  some  cadet 
is  going  to  catch  it  when  his  room  is  inspected." 

With  nothing  to  do,  the  cadets  found  the  time 
drag  heavily.  They  looked  around  the  room  for 
some  reading  matter,  but  found  nothing  outside 
of  some  newspapers  which  had  been  placed  on  the 


BY  THE  FISHING  POLE  ROUTE  53 

shelves  of  the  closet.  These  were  old  sheets,  and 
contained  nothing  which  they  cared  to  peruse. 

"Hurrah!  we're  going  to  have  some  heat,  any- 
how," cried  Randy,  about  eleven  o'clock.  "Hear 
the  radiator  cracking?" 

He  was  right,  and  soon  the  radiator  became 
moderately  warm.  This  did  not,  of  course,  warm 
the  room  very  thoroughly,  but  it  took  the  chill 
off  and  made  it  more  comfortable  than  it  had  been. 

"I'll  bet  a  cooky  that  some  of  the  others  made 
old  Duke  turn  the  heat  on,"  declared  Gif. 

"Either  that  or  else  some  of  our  chums  turned 
it  on  when  he  wasn't  watching,"  answered  Jack. 
Some  time  later  they  found  out  that  Bob  Nixon 
had  turned  on  the  heat  unbeknown  to  Snopper 
Duke.  It  was  also  learned  that  Professor  Graw- 
son  and  Professor  Brice  knew  nothing  about  the 
heat  having  been  turned  off. 

About  half -past  twelve  Snopper  Duke  appeared 
again,  this  time  with  one  of  the  under  teachers 
and  two  of  the  waiters.  The  under  teacher  had 
his  arms  full  of  books. 

"I  have  had  some  of  your  text  books  brought 
up  here,"  explained  Professor  Duke.  "There  is 
no  sense  in  your  wasting  your  time  here  doing 
nothing.  I  want  you  to  study  the  same  as  if  you 
were  attending  your  classes.  I  have  also  had 
your  dinner  brought  up." 


54      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Do  you  expect  us  to  study  in  a  cold  room?" 
questioned  Jack.  He  had  thrown  one  of  the  small 
bed  covers  over  the  radiator  and  added  a  book  or 
two  so  that  the  teacher  might  not  notice  that  it 
was  warm. 

"I'll  not  discuss  that  point  with  you,  Rover," 
was  Snopper  Duke's  sharp  reply.  "You  can  eat 
your  dinner,  and  then  go  at  your  studies."  And 
thereupon  he  directed  the  two  waiters  to  deposit 
the  fresh  trays  on  the  table  and  take  the  old  ones 
away.  Then  the  seven  cadets  were  locked  up  as 
before. 

In  comparison,  the  dinner  was  just  as  scanty 
as  the  breakfast  had  been.  For  each  pupil  there 
was  a  small  boiled  potato,  almost  cold,  a  few 
lima  beans,  a  small  slice  of  roast  beef,  and  one 
slice  of  unbuttered  bread.  There  were  also  sev- 
eral paper  drinking  cups,  to  indicate  that  the 
cadets  might  drink  all  the  water  they  cared  to 
draw  from  the  faucet  in  the  bathroom. 

"Regular  miser's  lunch,"  was  Andy's  comment, 
as  he  surveyed  it. 

"Exactly!"  answered  Fred.  And  then  he 
added  dryly:  "What  are  we  going  to  use  that 
sugar  and  condensed  milk  on?" 

"Oh,  the  condensed  milk  will  go  fine  on  the 
bread,"  put  in  Spouter.  "I  used  to  like  condensed 
milk  sandwiches." 


BY  THE  FISHING  POLE  ROUTE  55 

"And  you  can  eat  the  lump  sugar  for  dessert 
if  you  want  to,"  put  in  Jack. 

All  began  to  eat,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  meal 
they  heard  another  knock  on  the  door.  This  time 
Ned  Lowe  was  there,  one  of  their  chums  who  was 
a  great  singer  and  banjo  player. 

"Be  on  the  watch  for  the  beautiful  fishing 
pole,"  sang  Ned  in  a  low  voice.  "Hurry  up.  We 
can't  stay  up  here  very  long." 

All  leaped  for  the  window,  and  a  few  minutes 
later  the  fishing  rod  came  once  more  into  view, 
this  time  with  another  bundle  attached  to  it.  They 
held  the  end  of  the  pole  while  they  detached  the 
bundle  and  fastened  upon  it  the  empty  pillow  case. 
The  new  bundle  was  in  a  large  paper  flour  bag. 

"Here  is  where  we  are  going  to  have  a  regular 
feast !"  cried  Jack  with  satisfaction.  "Just  look ! 
Almost  half  a  boiled  tongue,  a  quart  jar  of  hot 
coffee,  some  boiled  sweet  potatoes,  and  half  an 
apple  pie.  I  declare  I  don't  see  how  they  man- 
aged to  get  hold  of  it." 

"They're  certainly  looking  out  for  us,"  an- 
swered Spouter. 

With  this  addition  to  the  food  already  on  hand, 
the  boys  started  in  to  have  a  real  good  dinner. 
They  were  enjoying  it  thoroughly  and  cracking 
all  kinds  of  jokes  when  they  suddenly  heard  a 
commotion  in  the  corridor  outside. 


56      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"I've  caught  you,  have  I  ?"  they  heard  Snopper 
Duke  exclaim.  "What  business  have  you  up  here, 
anyway?" 

"I  wasn't  doing  any  harm,  Professor,"  came 
in  the  voice  of  Dan  Soppinger. 

"What  is  that  you  have  behind  your  back? 
Give  it  to  me  this  instant,"  went  on  the  teacher. 

"Gee !  that's  Dan  Soppinger,  and  he's  got  him- 
self into  trouble!"  exclaimed  Jack,  in  alarm. 

"I  really  didn't  mean  to  do  any  harm,"  the  im- 
prisoned cadets  heard  Dan  answer. 

"What  is  that  you  are  trying  to  hide?  Give  it 
to  me!"  There  was  a  brief  silence,  and  then 
those  in  the  room  heard  the  teacher  continue :  "A 
pumpkin  pie  and  almost  a  pound  of  cheese! 
Where  did  you  get  those  things,  Soppinger  ?  And 
what  were  you  going  to  do  with  them?  Come, 
answer  me !" 

"If  you  want  to  know,  I  was  going  to  try  to 
get  them  to  those  fellows  you  locked  up,"  an- 
swered Dan  Soppinger,  in  desperation.  "I  heard 
you  were  just  about  starving  them  to  death." 

"What's  that?  Starving  them  to  death ?  Stuff 
and  nonsense!  They  are  getting  all  that  they 
need,  and  it's  not  for  you  to  interfere  in  my  busi- 
ness," went  on  Snopper  Duke,  his  high-pitched 
voice  rising  still  higher  in  anger.  "You  should 
be  down  in  your  classroom.  Give  me  those  thing? 


BY  THE  FISHING  POLE  ROUTE  57 

and  go  downstairs  at  once.  I'll  attend  to  your 
case  later." 

"Gee!  poor  Dan  is  certainly  in  hot  water," 
whispered  Jack. 

"Old  Duke  must  have  been  spying  on  him," 
said  Randy. 

"Maybe  he'll  come  in  here  and  see  how  matters 
are  going!"  cried  Spouter  excitedly.  "It  might 
not  be  a  bad  thing  to  get  all  that  extra  food  out 
of  sight" 

He  had  scarcely  spoken  when  they  heard  Pro- 
fessor Duke  at  the  door.  An  instant  later  the 
portal  was  thrown  open  and  the  teacher  stepped 
in.  His  eyes  swept  the  trays  and  the  plates  of 
food  the  cadets  were  holding. 

"Ha!  So  this  is  what  is  going  on,  eh?"  he 
stormed.  "Having  food  brought  in  on  the  sly, 
eh?  Well,  I'll  see  that  that  is  stopped!  You'll 
go  without  your  supper  for  this!"  And  then, 
after  a  few  more  words,  he  stormed  out  of  the 
room,  banging  the  door  behind  him  and  lock- 
ing it 


60      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

when  Colonel  Colby  stepped  into  the  room.  The 
master  of  the  Hall  was  alone. 

"Attention !"  called  Jack  sharply — for  this  had 
been  arranged  between  the  cadets  earlier  in  the 
day — and  thereupon  all  of  the  cadets  leaped  to 
their  feet  and  saluted. 

This  action  came  somewhat  as  a  surprise  to  the 
master  of  the  school,  and  just  the  faintest  flicker 
of  a  smile  passed  over  his  features.  Then  he 
closed  the  door  behind  him  and  came  forward. 

"I  am  very  sorry  to  learn  that  all  of  you  have 
been  breaking  the  rules  of  this  institution,"  said 
Colonel  Colby,  in  an  even  tone  of  voice.  "Cap- 
tain Rover,  I  would  like  to  have  your  version  of 
the  affair  if  you  care  to  make  a  report." 

"I  don't  know  that  I  can  make  much  of  a  re- 
port, Colonel,"  answered  the  young  captain,  his 
face  flushing.  "We  brought  the  snowballs  into 
the  school,  and  that  is  all  there  is  to  it." 

"Well,  what  about  sending  that  big  snowball 
down  the  stairs  on  top  of  Professor  Duke?" 

"That  was  an  accident,  sir,  and  I  was  respon- 
sible for  it,"  broke  in  Andy. 

"An  accident?  Professor  Duke  is  quite  cer- 
tain it  was  done  by  design." 

"He  is  mistaken,  sir,"  continued  Andy,  and 
then  in  a  few  words  related  exactly  how  the  ac- 
cident had  occurred. 


A  TOUCH  OF  MYSTERY  6l 

"Well,  what  about  the  snowballs  that  were 
placed  in  the  rooms  of  Stowell,  Besser,  Lunn 
and  in  the  bathroom  ?" 

"We  only  meant  it  for  a  little  fun,  Colonel," 
pleaded  Fred.  "Of  course,  I  realize  now  that 
maybe  we  went  a  little  too  far." 

"You  certainly  did  go  too  far,  Lieutenant 
Rover.  And  I  am  especially  surprised  to  find  you 
and  Captain  Rover  mixed  up  in  anything  of  this 
sort.  I  expect  the  officers  of  the  cadets  to  set  a 
good  example." 

"I  was  thinking  you  might  say  that,  Colonel 
Colby,"  put  in  Jack  quickly.  "And  I  should  have 
thought  of  it  before  I  went  into  the  affair.  But 
we  were  having  such  fun  outside  snowballing, 
and  like  that,  that  we  got  deeper  into  it  before 
•vve  gave  it  a  second  thought." 

"And  we  really  didn't  know  that  we  couldn't 
bring  any  snow  into  the  school,"  put  in  Phil 'rather 
lamely. 

"Such  an  explanation  won't  go  here,  Franklin. 
I  expect  my  students  to  have  more  common  sense 
than  that.  Of  course,  it  may  have  been  nothing 
but  a  boyish  prank,  and  if  you  can  give  me  your 
word  that  the  snowball  which  went  down  the 
stairs  and  hit  Professor  Duke  was  not  aimed 
at  him  deliberately,  I  shall  feel  inclined  to  let  the 
matter  pass." 


62      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Oh,  Colonel  Colby,  will  you  really  do  that?" 
questioned  Fred  eagerly. 

"Please  remember  we've  been  punished  al- 
ready," put  in  Spouter.  "Locked  up  like  a  lot 
of  criminals,  and  the  radiator  turned  off  until  we 
almost  froze  to  death !" 

"The  radiator  turned  off?"  questioned  the 
owner  of  the  school.  "It  is  hot  enough  now,"  he 
added,  as  he  placed  his  hand  upon  it. 

"But  it  wasn't  before,"  answered  Gif,  and  gave 
the  particulars.  As  he  did  this  Colonel  Colby's 
face  became  a  study. 

"I  will  look  into  that,"  he  said,  and  then 
walked  over  to  one  of  the  cots  and  also  to  one 
of  the  beds  and  inspected  the  thin  coverings.  "I 
trust  none  of  you  caught  cold  ?" 

"Well,  I  did  catch  a  little  cold,"  answered 
Spouter,  and  began  to  cough,  for  what  he  said 
was  true. 

After  this  Colonel  Colby  talked  to  the  cadets 
for  fully  ten  minutes,  trying  to  show  them  that 
what  they  had  done  was  not  what  he  expected  of 
them.  He  was  kind  almost  to  the  point  of  being 
fatherly,  and  made  several  remarks  which  caused 
the  boys  to  do  considerable  thinking. 

"I  am  afraid  some  of  you  lads  do  not  like  Pro- 
fessor Duke,"  said  he.  "I  am  afraid  you  con- 
sider him  rather  quick-tempered  and  irritable." 


A  TOUCH  OF  MYSTERY  63 

"Well,  he  certainly  isn't  as  nice  as  most  of  the 
other  teachers,"  declared  Randy  flatly. 

"He  always  seems  to  be  waiting  for  a  chance 
to  get  in  on  a  fellow,"  broke  out  Fred.  "In 
some  ways  he's  even  worse  than  Asa  Lemm  was." 

"But  he's  a  splendid  teacher,  I  will  say  that  for 
him,"  declared  Jack.  "Only,  the  way  he  some- 
times jumps  on  a  fellow  is  terrible." 

"I  shouldn't  like  to  have  you  boys  compare 
Professor  Duke  with  that  scalawag,  Asa  Lemm," 
declared  Colonel  Colby.  "Lemm  had  a  good  edu- 
cation— if  he  hadn't  had  I  should  not  have  en- 
gaged him  to  teach  here — but  he  was  not  the  hon- 
est and  upright  man  Snopper  Duke  is.  I  will  ad- 
mit that  at  times  he  is  quick-tempered,  but, 
believe  me,  boys,  he  has  good  reasons  for  it — or, 
at  least,  there  is  quite  some  excuse  for  his  acting 
that  way  at  times.  I  do  not  feel  like  discussing 
his  personal  affairs  with  you,  but  you  will  be 
doing  a  real  act  of  kindness  if  at  times  you  don't 
notice  his  actions  when  he  seems  rather  sharp.  I 
am  quite  sure  he  doesn't  always  mean  it." 

"Well,  of  course,  if  there's  some  reason " 

began  Jack. 

"There  is  quite  a  reason,  Captain  Rover.  But, 
as  I  said  before,  I  do  not  care  to  discuss  Profes- 
sor Duke's  personal  affairs  further.  Only,  if  I 
were  one  of  you  boys,  I  should  go  very  slow  in 


64      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

judging  him.  And  now  to  come  back  to  this 
present  affair:  I  have  had  a  talk  with  Professor 
Duke  and  I  will  have  another  talk  this  evening, 
and,  all  told,  I  think  you  have  been  punished 
enough.  So  we  will  call  the  matter  off  and  you 
can  return  to  your  classrooms." 

"Thank  you  very  much,  Colonel  Colby,"  cried 
Jack,  and,  starting  forward,  he  offered  his  hand, 
and  the  master  of  the  school  shook  it  warmly. 
Then  all  of  the  other  cadets  came  forward  to  do 
likewise. 

"I  hope  you  won't  punish  those  other  fellows 
for  getting  some  extra  food  up  to  us,"  said  Fred, 
as  he  and  Andy  brought  out  the  hidden  things 
and  placed  them  on  one  of  the  trays.  "They  only 
tried  to  do  us  a  good  turn." 

"You  may  rest  assured,  Rover,  that  I  shall  treat 
them  only  as  they  deserve,"  answered  Colonel 
Colby,  and  led  the  way  downstairs.  Here  the 
cadets  separated,  each  to  pay  a  brief  visit  to  his 
own  room  before  going  down  to  the  classrooms 
on  the  lower  floor. 

"I  wonder  what  Colonel  Colby  meant  when  he 
.said  Duke  had  reasons  for  being  irritable?"  re- 
marked Randy. 

"I  don't  know,  I'm  sure,"  answered  Jack 
thoughtfully. 

"Maybe  he's  suffering   from   some  sickness,' 


A  TOUCH  OF  MYSTERY  65 

suggested  Fred.  "Perhaps  he  ought  to  have  an 
operation  and  hates  to  have  it  done." 

"Maybe  he's  worried  about  money  matters," 
came  from  Randy. 

"It  was  certainly  something1  worth  while  or 
Colonel  Colby  wouldn't  have  been  so  serious  about 
it,"  said  Fred.  "Gee !  I'm  sorry  if  I  misjudged 
him,  if  there  is  really  something  wrong." 

"I  don't  believe  Colonel  Colby  would  caution 
us  if  it  wasn't  so,"  said  Jack.  "And  after  this 
I'm  going  to  give  Duke  as  much  consideration  as 
I  possibly  can." 

The  boys  had  been  told  to  go  to  their  class- 
rooms, but  this  was  hardly  necessary,  for  they 
had  just  about  presented  themselves  when  the 
afternoon  session  of  the  school  came  to  an  end. 
Then  they  followed  some  of  their  friends  down 
to  the  gymnasium,  where  they  were  at  once  sur- 
rounded and  asked  to  give  the  particulars  of  what 
had  happened  to  them. 

"It  wasn't  a  great  deal,"  said  Jack.  "And 
first  of  all  I  want  to  know  what  was  done  to  Dan 
and  the  others." 

"Oh,  Colonel  Colby  read  us  a  little  lecture, 
that's  all,"  answered  Walt  Baxter,  one  of  the 
cadets.  "He  told  us  we  had  no  right  to  take  any 
of  the  food  without  asking  for  it." 

"I  offered  to  pay  for  it,"  put  in  Ned  Lowe, 


66      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"and  so  did  Dan.  But  the  colonel  said  that 
wasn't  the  point.  That  he  wanted  the  discipline 
of  the  Hall  maintained." 

"Did  he  say  anything  about  Professor  Duke?" 
questioned  Fred. 

"Not  a  word." 

"Well,  he  told  us  something,"  continued  the 
youngest  Rover,  and  then  related  what  had  been 
said  on  the  subject. 

"Say,  that  squares  with  something  I  once 
heard,"  cried  Walt  Baxter.  "I  met  Professor 
Duke  down  at  the  barn  one  day  where  he  was 
waiting  to  have  Nixon  drive  him  down  to  town. 
The  professor  was  walking  around,  wringing  his 
hands  and  muttering  to  himself.  He  looked  all 
out  of  sorts,  and  he  said  something  that  sounded 
to  me  like  'I  don't  see  how  I  can  do  it!  I  don't 
see  how  I  can  really  attempt  it !' ' 

"And  what  do  you  suppose  it  was  that  both- 
ered him,  Walt?"  questioned  Jack  curiously. 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know.  I  watched  him  walk 
up  and  down  and  wring  his  hands.  And  then  he 
took  a  notebook  out  of  his  pocket  and  began  to 
study  some  of  the  figures  in  it.  Then  Nixon 
came  along  with  the  auto,  and  he  jumped  in  and 
rode  off." 

"Well,  that  sure  is  a  mystery,"  declared  Randy. 

This  news  concerning  Snopper  Duke  gradually 


A  TOUCH  OF  MYSTERY  67 

spread  throughout  the  school,  and  many  of  the 
boys  watched  the  teacher  curiously.  In  the  mean- 
time Colonel  Colby  had  a  conference,  not  only 
with  Duke,  but  also  with  Professor  Grawson; 
and  when  the  classes  opened  the  next  day  Jack 
and  the  others  found  themselves  treated  just  as  if 
nothing  out  of  the  ordinary  had  occurred. 

"Colonel  Colby  said  he  would  let  the  matter 
pass,  and  I  guess  he's  going  to  keep  his  word," 
remarked  Fred. 

There  was  only  one  boy  who  remained 
troubled,  and  that  was  Codfish.  He  avoided  the 
Rovers  and  the  others  as  much  as  possible,  often 
running  away  at  the  sight  of  them. 

"Codfish  is  just  about  scared  stiff,"  remarked 
Randy.  "He  knows  he  got  himself  in  wrong." 

"What  a  poor  fish  he  is,"  answered  his  twin. 

On  Saturday  afternoon  a  number  of  the  boys 
obtained  permission  to  visit  the  town  and  attend 
the  moving  picture  performance  if  they  so  de- 
sired. Jack  had  telephoned  to  his  sister,  and 
Martha  had  answered  that  probably  a  number  of 
girls  from  Clearwater  Hall  would  be  in  town  at 
the  same  time. 

"And  I've  got  something  to  tell  you,  too,  Jack," 
said  Martha  over  the  wire.  "Something  I'm 
sure  you'll  be  interested  in  hearing." 

"Why  don't  you  tell  me  now?"  he  replied. 


68      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Oh,  this  isn't  something  to  tell  over  a  public 
telephone,"  his  sister  answered. 

The  snowstorm  had  come  to  an  end,  and  it 
was  clear  and  bright  overhead  when  the  four 
Rovers  and  some  of  the  others  tramped  to  Haven 
Point.  Here,  at  the  railroad  station,  they  met 
Martha  and  Mary,  and  also  Ruth  Stevenson, 
May  Powell,  and  several  other  girls  from  the 
academy. 

"Hov.-  are  your  eyes  feeling,  Ruth  ?"  questioned 
Jack  anxiously,  as  he  walked  side  by  side  with 
the  girl  on  the  way  to  the  moving  picture  theater. 
As  my  old  readers  know,  Ruth  had  once  suffered 
dreadfully  through  getting  some  pepper  into  her 
eyes,  and  it  had  been  feared  that  she  might  go 
blind. 

"Oh,  my  eyes  are  quite  all  right  again,  Jack," 
answered  the  girl.  "Sometimes  they  feel  the  least 
bit  scratchy.  But  I  bathe  them  with  a  solution 
the  doctor  gave  me  and  then  they  feel  quite  nat- 
ural." 

"I'm  mighty  glad  to  hear  that,"  Jack  returned 
warmly.  For  of  all  the  girls  who  were  friends 
of  his  sister  he  liked  Ruth  the  best. 

As  luck  would  have  it,  there  was  a  very  good 
show  on  that  afternoon,  and  as  a  consequence  a 
crowd  had  assembled  to  obtain  tickets  of  admis- 
sion. Randy  went  ahead  to  get  all  the  tickets 


A  TOUCH  OF  MYSTERY  69 

needed,  and  while  he  did  this  Martha  plucked  her 
brother  by  the  coat  sleeve  and  drew  him  a  little 
to  one  side. 

"What's  this  you've  got  to  tell  me,  Martha?" 
questioned  the  young  captain  in  a  whisper. 

"It's  about  a  fellow  at  your  school — a  chap 
named  Lester  Bangs,"  replied  the  girl. 

"Oh,  you  mean  the  fellow  we  call  Brassy 
Bangs!  What  about  him?" 

"He  and  one  or  two  of  his  particular  chums 
have  been  up  to  Clearwater  Hall  three  times. 
They  took  some  of  the  girls  out  in  a  sleigh  they 
hired,  and  that  Bangs  did  his  level  best  to  get 
Ruth  to  go  along.  And  now  he  has  invited  her 
to  attend  some  kind  of  a  party  next  week,"  was 
Martha's  reply,  words  which  for  some  reason  he 
could  not  explain  even  to  himself  cut  Jack  to  the 
heart 


CHAPTER  VH 
SOMETHING  ABOUT  A  SLEIGHRIDE  PARTY 

"WHAT  kind  of  a  party  is  it,  Martha  ?" 

"I  don't  know,  except  that  it's  somewhere  out 
of  town  and  some  of  the  girls  and  fellows  are 
going  to  the  place  in  sleighs.  I  wasn't  asked  to 
go,  and  I  got  the  information  in  a  roundabout 
way." 

"Then  Ruth  hasn't  said  anything  to  you  about 
it?' 

"Not  a  word.  But  I'm  sure  she  received  this 
Lester  Bangs'  invitation." 

"And  you  think  she  may  accept  it  ?" 

"I  hope  not,  Jack.  Because  I  don't  like  Bangs. 
He  wears  such  showy  clothing  and  jewelry." 

"That's  the  reason  we  call  him  Brassy — he  is 
brassy  in  looks  and  brassy  in  manner.  He's 
just  as  much  of  a  hot-air  bag  as  Tommy  Flan- 
ders," went  on  the  young  captain,  referring  to 
an  arrogant  youth  who  the  summer  before  had 
pitched  for  Longley  Academy  and  been  knocked 
out  of  the  box. 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  A  SLEIGHRIDE  PARTY    71 

"Isn't  it  queer,  he  put  me  in  mind  of  Flanders  ?" 
whispered  Martha,  "I  hope  you  don't  have  any 
trouble  with  him,  Jack."  And  then,  as  some  of 
the  others  came  closer,  the  private  conversation 
had  to  come  to  an  end. 

While  in  the  moving  picture  theater  Jack  sat 
with  Ruth  beside  him.  They  occasionally  spoke 
about  the  scenes  presented  to  them  and  also  about 
school  matters  in  general,  but  not  one  word  was 
said  by  either  about  the  party  Martha  had  men- 
tioned. 

"Mr.  Falstein  certainly  gets  good  pictures,"  re- 
marked the  girl,  when  the  performance  had  come 
to  an  end  and  the  crowd  of  young  people  was 
moving  out  of  the  theater.  "They're  just  as  good 
as  one  can  see  in  the  big  cities." 

"They're  the  same  thing,  only  he  gets  them  a 
little  later,"  answered  Jack. 

"I  like  the  comic  pictures  better  than  any- 
thing," declared  Andy.  "I  hate  those  serious 
ones.  They're  generally  so  awfully  mushy." 

"Why,  Andy  Rover,  how  you  talk !"  cried  Alice 
Strobell.  "I  think  that  picture  they  showed  to- 
day of  Life  in  a  Big  City  was  perfectly  grand.'* 

"Especially  where  the  heroine  sobbed  herself 
to  sleep  over  the  sewing  machine  in  her  garret 
room,"  went  on  Andy,  with  a  snicker.  "Wasn't 
that  just  the  tear-bringer?" 


72      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"I  don't  care!  It  was  just  as  true  to  life  as 
it  could  be,"  answered  Alice  sturdily. 

"Well,  maybe,"  was  the  airy  return  of  the  fun- 
loving  Rover.  "Come  to  think  of  it,  I  never  did 
run  a  sewing  machine  in  a  garret  room  with  the 
snow  blowing  through  a  busted  window.  I'd 
rather  sit  in  the  shade  of  the  old  apple  tree  read- 
ing a  good  book  and  getting  on  the  outside  of 
some  ripe  pears/'  he  continued,  and  at  this  there 
was  general  laughter. 

As  was  their  custom,  the  young  folks  drifted 
from  the  theater  to  a  nearby  candy  and  ice-cream 
establishment.  Here  they  split  up  into  various 
groups  at  some  tables  in  the  rear.  Of  course,  the 
boys  insisted  on  treating  the  girls,  and  there  was 
quite  a  discussion  over  what  each  would  have. 
Martha  and  Mary  had  paired  off  with  Gif  and 
Spouter,  and  Fred  and  the  twins  were  with  some 
of  the  other  girls,  and  this  left  Ruth  and  Jack  by 
themselves. 

Several  times  the  young  captain  wanted  to 
bring  the  conversation  around  to  the  question  of 
the  party  that  had  been  mentioned.  But  every 
time  he  checked  himself. 

"What  were  you  going  to  say?"  questioned 
Ruth,  when  he  caught  himself  once.  "You  act 
as  if  you  had  something  on  your  mind  of  special 
importance,  Jack." 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  A  SLEIGH  RIDE  PARTY    73 

"Not  at  all !  Not  at  all !"  he  returned  hastily. 
"How  are  you  getting  along  with  your  studies, 
Ruth  ?  Do  your  eyes  interfere  much  with  them  ?" 

"Not  a  great  deal.  But,  of  course,  I  have  to  be 
more  or  less  careful.  But  I'm  doing  finely,  so 
the  teachers  say." 

"We're  going  to  have  an  election  of  officers 
soon,"  continued  the  young  captain.  "Some  of 
the  fellows  are  urging  me  to  run  for  major  of 
the  battalion.  Ralph  Mason  is  going  to  drop  out, 
you  know." 

"Oh,  Jack !  why  don't  you  run  ?" 

"Do  you  want  me  to  run,  Ruth?" 

"Why,  of  course !  if  there's  any  chance  of  get- 
ting it,  and  I  don't  see  why  there  shouldn't  be," 
she  returned  quickly. 

Her  manner  was  so  intimate  that  once  again 
he  was  on  the  point  of  mentioning  the  party. 
But  then  he  shut  his  teeth  hard  and  pretended  to 
be  interested  in  something  taking  place  at  the 
other  tables. 

"Don't  you  think  you  could  win  the  election  if 
you  tried  ?"  Ruth  continued,  after  looking  at  him 
questioningly  for  a  moment. 

"Oh,  I  guess  I'd  have  as  good  a  chance  as  any 
one  in  command.  Of  course,  there  are  a  number 
of  other  officers  who  would  have  as  good  a  chance 
as  I'd  have.  But  I'm  not  altogether  sure  that 


74      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

I  want  to  be  major.  If  I  held  that  office 
Colonel  Colby  would  expect  me  to  toe  the  mark 
all  the  time  just  as  an  example  to  the  others. 
Even  as  it  was,  he  didn't  like  to  have  me  as  a 
captain  and  Fred  as  a  lieutenant  mixed  up  in  that 
snowball  affair." 

"Oh,  but,  Jack!  think  of  the  honor  of  being1 
major  of  the  battalion,"  cried  the  girl.  "I'm  sure 
Martha  and  your  folks  will  be  very  proud  of 
you." 

"Would  you  be  proud,  Ruth,  if  I  should  win 
the  position  ?"  he  asked  in  a  low  tone. 

"Why,  of  course — we  all  would,"  returned  the 
girl,  her  face  flushing  slightly.  "I  always  like  to 
see  my  friends  make  something  of  themselves." 

Ruth's  tone  was  cordial  enough,  and  once  again 
Jack  was  on  the  point  of  switching  the  talk  to 
the  party.  But  now  some  of  the  young  folks  had 
finished,  and  the  little  gathering  began  to  break 
up  and  he  and  Ruth  were  surrounded  by  the 
others. 

"We've  got  to  do  some  shopping,"  declared 
Mary,  when  they  were  out  on  the  sidewalk.  "So 
we  can't  remain  with  you  boys  any  longer."  And 
a  few  minutes  later  the  crowd  separated,  the  girls 
hurrying  in  one  direction  and  the  cadets  in  an- 
other. 

"You  let  me  know  if  you  hear  any  more  about 


75 

that  party,"  whispered  Jack,  on  parting  from  his 
sister. 

"I  will,"  she  answered. 

On  starting  back  for  the  Hall  Jack  paired  off 
with  Fred  and  purposely  lagged  behind. 

"Did  you  hear  anything  about  a  party  in  which 
Brassy  Bangs  was  interested?"  he  asked  of  his 
cousin. 

"Mary  said  that  Brassy  was  getting  up  some 
sort  of  party,  to  come  off  either  Thursday  or 
Friday  of  this  week.  The  crowd  is  going  some- 
where in  two  big  sleighs." 

"She  didn't  say  where?" 

"She  didn't  know." 

"Did  she  say  who  was  going?" 

"As  far  as  she  knew  the  crowd  of  fellows  con- 
sisted of  Brassy  and  two  or  three  of  his  chums 
at  the  Hall  and  some  young  fellows  around 
town." 

"And  what  about  the  girls,  Fred  ?" 

"They  asked  Jennie  Mason  and  Ida  Brierley 
to  go  and  a  number  of  the  other  girls  from  Clear- 
water." 

"Did  they  ask  May?" 

"Mary  wasn't  sure.  But  she  rather  thinks  that 
May  and  Ruth  both  got  an  invite,  although  in 
some  kind  of  roundabout  way.  Did  Ruth  say 
anything  to  you  about  it?" 


76      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Not  a  word.  But  Martha  did.  She,  too, 
thought  Ruth  had  an  invitation,  but  she  didn't 
mention  May." 

"I  wonder  if  May  and  Ruth  will  go?"  ques- 
tioned the  youngest  Rover.  He  was  almost  as 
chummy  with  Spouter's  cousin  as  Jack  was  with 
Ruth. 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know,  Fred.  But  I  do  know 
I'd  hate  to  see  either  of  them  going  out  with  such 
a  fellow  as  Brassy." 

"It  will  be  a  shame  to  have  any  of  those  girls 
associate  with  him!"  burst  out  Fred  indignantly. 
"He's  not  in  their  class  at  all — he's  altogether  too 
loud  and  flashy." 

"He  certainly  sports  a  lot  of  cheap  jewelry," 
was  Jack's  comment.  "And  that  suit  of  clothes 
that  he  had  on  when  he  first  came  to  the  Hall  was 
a  scream." 

"Let's  go  around  to  the  livery  stable  and  see  if 
we  can  find  out  something  about  the  party." 

The  place  Fred  had  in  mind  was  located  on  a 
side  street  less  than  a  block  away,  and  it  did  not 
take  the  two  young  officers  long  to  reach  it.  They 
found  the  livery-stable  keeper  out,  but  one  of  his 
assistants  came  forward  to  see  what  they  wanted. 

"Hello,  Waxy,"  cried  Jack  cordially,  for  he 
had  met  the  young  fellow  many  times  before. 
"How  are  you  these  days  ?" 


77 

"Fine  as  a  spider's  web,"  answered  Waxy,  with 
a  grin. 

"I  understand  you're  going  to  use  your  two  big 
sleighs  for  a  party  this  week  for  some  of  our  fel- 
lows ?"  went  on  the  young  captain. 

"Yes,  both  sleighs  are  hired  for  Thursday  or 
Friday  night,"  was  the  answer.  "But  you  could 
get  'em  for  any  other  night  you  might  want,'* 
went  on  Waxy,  with  an  eye  to  business. 

"Where  is  the  party  to  be  held?"  questioned 
Fred. 

"I  don't  know  exactly.  They're  to  go  about 
twelve  miles  out  of  town,  so  I  was  told." 

"Some  young  fellows  from  town  helping  to 
get  it  up,  I  believe?" 

"Yes.  Tom  Drake,  Bill  Fenny,  Joe  McGuire, 
Ted  Rosenblatt,  and  a  bunch  of  others  are  in- 
terested. They'll  have  one  high  old  time,  you 
believe  me,"  went  on  the  livery-stable  keeper's  as- 
sistant, with  a  grin. 

"Rather  a  lively  bunch,  are  they?"  questioned 
Jack. 

"About  as  lively  as  this  town  affords." 

"It's  a  wonder  some  of  our  fellows  are  going 
with  them,"  was  Fred's  comment. 

"Oh,  that'll  be  all  right.  There  won't  be  any- 
thing out  of  the  way,"  put  in  Waxy  hastily,  afraid 
that  he  had  said  too  much.  "They'll  have  a  lively 


78      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

time,  but  everything  will  be  perfectly  all  right." 
"Maybe,"  answered  Jack,  and  then,  after  a  few 
more  words  with  the  assistant,  the  two  cadets  hur- 
ried off  after  their  chums. 

"If  McGuire  and  Rosenblatt  have  anything  to 
do  with  that  party  it  will  certainly  be  a  lively 
one,"  said  Fred,  on  the  way  to  the  school. 
"They're  the  liveliest  fellows  this  town  affords." 
"It  won't  be  any  kind  of  a  party  for  our  girl 
friends  to  attend,"  remarked  Jack.  "I  certainly 
hope  May  and  Ruth  don't  go." 

"Maybe  we  ought  to  warn  them,  Jack." 
"If  we  did  that  somebody  might  say  we  were 
sore  because  we  weren't  invited,  Fred." 

"I  know  it.    But  it's  a  shame,  just  the  same." 
"We  might  let  Martha  and  Mary  know  what 
we  found  out,  and  then  they  might  put  a  flea  in 
the  ears  of  the  other  girls." 

It  must  be  confessed  that  Jack  was  rather  sober 
that  night  and  all  day  Sunday.  He  could  not 
get  the  coming  party  out  of  his  mind,  and  he 
wondered  constantly  whether  Ruth  would  really 
accept  the  invitation  which  had  been  extended  to 
her.  Along  with  a  number  of  other  cadets  he 
attended  church  in  town,  but,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  it  had  begun  to  snow  again,  none  of  the  girls 
from  Clearwater  Hall  were  present  at  the  ser- 
vices. 


79 

"I  guess  I  might  as  well  call  Martha  up  on  the 
'phone,"  he  told  Fred,  Sunday  evening. 

"All  right,"  was  his  cousin's  reply.  "And  don't 
forget  to  mention  May." 

When  the  young  captain  had  his  sister  on  the 
wire  he  learned  a  number  of  things  that  surprised 
him  not  a  little.  It  seemed  that  the  matter  of  the 
coming  sleighride  party  had  been  rather  freely 
discussed  at  Clearwater  Hall,  and  a  number  of  the 
pupils  there  were  divided  on  the  question  as  to 
whether  to  participate  in  the  affair  or  not.  Jen- 
nie Mason,  Ida  Brierley,  and  four  or  five  others 
were  in  favor  of  accepting,  while  others  had 
either  declined  or  were  noncommittal. 

"Some  of  the  girls  have  gotten  almost  into  a 
fight  over  it,"  said  Martha.  "It's  the  liveliest 
thing  that  has  happened  in  this  school  in  a  long 
while.  I  believe  if  the  discussion  keeps  up  none 
of  the  girls  will  be  allowed  to  go,  even  though  two 
married  ladies  from  the  town  are  to  go  along  as 
chaperones." 

"Did  you  hear  anything  further  about  Ruth  or 
anything  about  May?"  questioned  Jack. 

"Not  a  word.  Of  course,  not  having  been  in- 
vited myself,  I  didn't  care  to  question  either  of 
them  for  fear  they  might  think  I  was  just  a  bit 
jealous,  or  something  like  that." 

"Well,  I  don't  think  they  ought  to  go  to  any 


80      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

such  party,"  answered  Jack,  and  then  told  what 
he  and  Fred  had  learned  at  the  livery  stable. 

'Tve  heard  of  Joe  McGuire  and  also  heard  of 
Ted  Rosenblatt!"  exclaimed  Martha.  "I  cer- 
tainly shouldn't  want  to  be  seen  in  their  com- 
pany. I'll  have  to  mention  this  to  some  of  the 
others."  And  here  the  conversation  had  to  come 
to  an  end. 

On  Monday  morning  Jack  met  Brassy  Bangs  in 
one  of  the  corridors  and  noticed  that  the  loud- 
spoken  youth  looked  at  him  rather  speculatively. 
Nothing,  however,  was  said,  and  the  young  cap- 
tain entered  one  of  the  classrooms  and  was  soon 
deep  in  his  studies.  That  evening,  however, 
Brassy  Bangs  and  two  of  his  chums  were  miss- 
ing from  their  usual  places  at  one  of  the  mess- 
hall  tables. 

"They  got  permission  to  go  to  town.  I  sup- 
pose they  went  to  make  further  arrangements 
about  that  big  sleighing  party,"  remarked 
Randy. 

To  show  that  he  meant  to  do  his  best  as  cap- 
tain of  Company  C,  Jack  put  in  a  full  day  on 
Tuesday  drilling  his  command  and  in  the  class- 
rooms. As  a  consequence  that  evening  found  him 
pretty  well  worn  out  from  his  duties.  Yet  he  had 
some  studying  he  felt  he  must  do,  and  so  an- 
nounced he  was  going  to  sit  up  for  a  while  after 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  A  SLEIGHRIDE  PARTY    8l 

his  cousins,  who  occupied  rooms  on  both  sides  of 
him,  had  retired. 

The  young  captain  was  hard  at  work  doing 
some  examples  in  geometry  when  there  came  a 
sudden  sharp  rap  on  his  door.  Thinking  that  one 
of  his  school  chums  had  come  to  have  a  word  with 
him  before  retiring,  he  threw  the  door  open  and 
found  himself  confronted  by  Brassy  Bangs. 

"I  want  to  have  a  few  words  with  you,  Jack 
Rover!"  cried  the  loud-mouthed  cadet  savagely. 
And  then  closing  the  door  he  advanced  upon  the 
young  captain  in  anything  but  a  friendly  manner. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A    FIGHT    AND    A     CHALLENGE 

JACK  ROVER  could  see  that  Brassy  Bangs  was 
laboring  under  great  excitement.  The  youth  who 
loved  to  dress  in  such  a  showy  manner  was  red 
of  face  and  his  eyes  glittered  in  a  manner  calcu- 
lated to  make  any  one  quail  before  him. 

But  the  young  captain  of  Company  C  was  not 
going  to  quail,  and  he  stood  his  ground  and 
looked  the  other  youth  squarely  in  the  face. 

"You  want  a  few  words,  eh?"  he  said  coldly. 
"Well,  what  is  it?" 

"You  know  well  enough  what  brought  me 
here !"  cried  Brassy.  "I've  a  good  mind  to  wipe 
up  the  floor  with  you !" 

"I'm  not  fighting  just  now,  Bangs.  But  don't 
forget  that  I  can  defend  myself  if  it's  necessary," 
answered  the  young  captain  quickly.  And  then 
he  added:  "Now  say  what  you've  got  to  say  or 
get  out" 

"I'll  stay  as  long  as  I  please,"  blustered  the 
showy  youth.  "It's  a  fine  piece  of  business  you've 

82 


A  FIGHT  AND  A  CHALLENGE  83 

been  in — trying  to  belittle  me  and  my  chums  in 
the  eyes  of  the  girls  at  Clearwater  Hall." 

"If  you  came  here  to  talk  about  the  young  ladies 
from  Clearwater  the  sooner  you  get  out  the  bet- 
ter," answered  Jack,  his  face  flushing. 

"Thought  you  were  pulling  off  a  fine  stunt, 
didn't  you,  when  you  talked  to  Ruth  Stevenson 
about  me?"  sneered  Brassy. 

"I  haven't  said  a  word  to  Miss  Stevenson  about 
you." 

"I  know  better,  Jack  Rover.  You  went  to  her 
and  some  of  the  other  girls  and  told  them  that 
my  chums  and  I  were  no  good,  and  that  the  sleigh- 
ride  party  we  and  some  other  fellows  were  gel- 
ting  up  was  going  to  be  the  wildest  thing  that 
ever  took  place  at  Haven  Point." 

"You're  entirely  mistaken,  Bangs.  And  the 
sooner  you  get  out  of  here  the  better  it  will  please 
me." 

"Do  you  dare  deny  that  you  hauled  us  over 
the  coals  with  those  girls  at  Clearwater  Hall  ?" 

"I  decline  to  discuss  the  matter  any  further  with 
you,"  answered  the  young  captain. 

"See  here,  Rover!  you  can't  ride  any  high  horse 
like  that  with  me,"  blustered  Brassy.  "You  and 
your  cousins  and  some  of  the  other  fellows  did 
your  best  to  queer  our  whole  sleighing  party,  and 
you've  got  to  take  the  consequences !"  And  now 


84      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

Brassy  Bangs  doubled  up  his  fists  and  tried  to 
look  more  dangerous  than  ever. 

"See  here,  Bangs !  if  you  don't  stop  your  noise 
and  get  out  of  here  I'll  put  you  out,"  returned 
Jack,  in  a  low  but  firm  voice.  "I  don't  want  any 
fight  with  you,  but  I  want  you  to  understand  that 
I  can  hold  up  my  end  every  time." 

"Like  pie  you  can!  You  put  on  a  big  front 
as  a  captain,  but  I  know  your  sort  well  enough! 
You  can't  pull  the  wool  over  my  eyes !  You  went 
to  the  girls'  school  and  shot  off  your  mouth,  and 
you  are  going  to  take  the  consequences!"  and 
without  further  ado  Brassy  Bangs  stepped  for- 
ward and  aimed  a  heavy  blow  at  Jack's  face. 

Had  the  fist  landed  as  intended,  Jack  might 
have  been  knocked  flat.  But  the  young  captain 
had  not  been  in  athletic  training  for  several  years 
for  nothing,  and  he  dodged  quickly.  Brassy  was 
carried  forward,  so  that  his  arm  shot  over  Jack's 
shoulder  and  his  body  came  in  contact  with  the 
young  captain's  arm.  The  next  instant  Jack  had 
him  by  the  back  of  the  collar  and  was  holding 
him  at  arm's  length. 

"Now  you  get  out  of  here !"  he  cried,  and  tried 
to  drag  Brassy  toward  the  door. 

Of  course  the  other  youth  squirmed,  and  in  an 
instant  there  was  a  rough  and  tumble  scuffle. 
Jack  was  pushed  against  the  wall,  and  retaliated 


A  FIGHT  AND  A  CHALLENGE  85 

by  forcing  Brassy  backward  over  a  chair.  Then 
the  two  spun  around  the  room,  upsetting  a  stand 
containing  a  number  of  books. 

"Hello!  what's  going  on  here?"  came  a  voice 
from  one  of  the  side  rooms,  and  Fred  appeared. 
He  had  been  in  bed  and  was  attired  only  in  his 
pajamas. 

Jack  and  Brassy  were  so  wrought  up  by  this 
time  that  neither  paid  attention  to  the  interrup- 
tion. Nor  did  they  take  notice  when  another  door 
opened  and  Andy  and  Randy  came  into  view. 
Brassy  managed  to  break  away  and  land  a  blow 
on  Jack's  arm,  and  in  return  received  a  crack  in 
the  chin  which  sent  his  head  backward  and  all  but 
unbalanced  him. 

"Gee !  it's  a  regular  fight,"  burst  out  Andy.  "I 
didn't  know  Brassy  was  here." 

"Neither  did  I,"  said  Fred.  "Why  didn't  you 
call  us,  Jack?" 

"He  didn't  give  me  time,"  answered  the  young 
captain.  "He  accused  me  of  getting  him  into 
trouble  at  Clearwater  Hall,  and  then  pitched  into 
me." 

"I'll  fix  you!"  yelled  Brassy,  who  was  now 
almost  beside  himself  with  rage.  "I'll  fix  you !" 
and  he  made  another  lunge  for  Jack. 

But  the  blow  he  intended  to  deliver  fell  short, 
and  before  he  could  recover  the  young  captain 


86      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

came  at  him  with  a  crack  in  the  ear,  followed  by 
another  on  the  cheek,  and  these  caused  Brassy  to 
stagger  into  a  corner  where  he  held  fast  to  a 
chair. 

"Say,  you  fellows  will  have  Colonel  Colby  here 
in  another  minute,"  warned  Fred. 

"I  don't  care  who  comes !"  bellowed  Brassy 
recklessly.  "But  see  here,  I'm  not  going  to  fight 
four  of  you!"  he  went  on  sullenly,  as  he  glared 
from  one  to  another  of  the  Rovers. 

"There  won't  be  any  more  fight!"  cried  Jack, 
who  had  no  desire  to  be  brought  up  before  the 
master  of  the  school  again.  "Fred,  open  that 
door !"  And  then,  as  the  youngest  Rover  did  so, 
he  added  to  his  opponent :  "Now  get  out  of  here 
before  I  throw  you  out." 

"You  can't  throw  me  out!"  blustered  Brassy. 
But  then,  as  Jack  advanced  on  him  threateningly, 
he  made  a  sudden  spring  for  the  door  and  ran 
out  into  the  corridor.  "I'm  not  going  to  fight 
four  to  one.  But  just  wait — this  isn't  ended  yet," 
he  went  on,  and  then  disappeared. 

Fred  closed  the  door  again,  and  he  and  the 
others  gathered  around  Jack,  who  was  panting 
from  his  unexpected  exertions. 

"Gosh,  but  he  looked  mad !"  was  Randy's  com- 
ment. "What  was  it  all  about?" 

In  as  few  words  as  possible  the  young  captain 


A  FIGHT  AND  A  CHALLENGE  87 

explained  the  situation  so  far  as  he  was  able. 

"Brassy  must  have  gone  over  to  Clearwater 
Hall  and  there  got  the  idea  that  you  were  queering 
that  proposed  party,"  was  Fred's  comment. 
"Well,  I'm  glad  if  the  girls  are  wise  to  what  is 
going  on." 

"Better  chew  this  over  in  the  morning,"  ad- 
monished Andy.  "The  thing  now  is  to  get  into 
bed  and  put  out  the  lights.  One  of  the  profes- 
sors may  be  up  here  any  minute." 

This  advice  was  considered  good,  and  with 
lightning-like  rapidity  the  room  was  placed  in 
order  and  the  others  retired  again,  leaving  Jack  to 
undress  and  go  to  bed  as  quickly  as  possible.  A 
little  later  one  of  the  monitors  came  through  the 
hall,  but  none  of  the  Rovers  was  disturbed. 

It  was  not  until  two  days  later  that  the  Rovers 
heard  the  particulars  of  what  had  occurred  at 
Qearwater  Hall.  Then  they  learned  that,  un- 
known to  any  of  the  girls,  one  of  the  teachers 
had  been  delegated  by  Miss  Garwood,  the  head 
of  the  academy,  to  make  a  quiet  investigation 
concerning  the  proposed  sleighing  party.  And 
when  this  teacher  had  found  out  who  were  on 
the  committee  of  arrangements,  Miss  Garwood 
had  forbidden  any  of  the  young  ladies  to  par- 
ticipate. When  this  became  known,  Brassy  Bangs 
had  at  once  concluded  that  Jack — and  perhaps 


88      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

some  of  his  relatives  and  friends — was  respon^ 
sible  for  what  had  occurred.  The  party  had  been 
called  off. 

"I'm  glad  it's  called  off,"  said  Jack. 

"So  am  I,"  returned  Fred.  "But,  believe  me, 
Jack,  Brassy  will  have  it  in  for  you  after  this." 

"Possibly." 

"You  didn't  hear  anything  about  what  girls 
intended  to  go,  did  you?"  put  in  Randy. 

"I  heard  Jennie  Mason,  Ida  Brierley,  and  Net- 
tie Goss  mentioned.  That's  all,"  answered  Jack. 

He  would  have  given  a  good  deal  to  have  known 
what  was  the  real  attitude  of  Ruth  and  May  to- 
ward the  party.  But,  as  before,  neither  he  nor 
Fred  felt  inclined  to  make  any  direct  inquiries.. 

"It  almost  looks  as  if  Brassy  had  expected 
Ruth  to  go  with  him,"  murmured  the  young  cap- 
tain to  himself,  when  he  was  alone  that  night. 
And  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  thought  made 
him  feel  quite  gloomy. 

After  this  incident  matters  ran  along  smoothly 
for  a  week  or  more  at  the  Hall.  During  that 
time  the  snow  commenced  to  melt  and  almost  be- 
fore the  cadets  knew  it,  it  had  disappeared  en- 
tirely. 

In  the  meanwhile  there  was  constant  talk  of  the 
election  for  officers  that  was  to  take  place.  Ralph 
Mason,  the  major  of  the  school  battalion,  was 


A  FIGHT  AND  A  CHALLENGE  89 

about  to  leave,  as  was  also  one  of  the  captains, 
so  there  would  be  first  an  election  to  fill  these  va- 
cancies and  then  another  election  in  case  one  or 
both  vacancies  were  filled  by  those  who  were  al- 
ready acting  as  officers. 

"I  really  think  you  ought  to  try  for  the  major- 
ship,"  said  Gif  to  Jack.  "You  certainly  have 
done  well  as  a  captain." 

"It  would  be  very  nice,  Gif,"  was  Jack's  re- 
ply. "But  I  feel  sometimes  as  if  I  ought  to  give 
some  of  the  other  fellows  a  show." 

"But  they  may  not  want  it,"  answered  Andy. 
"Look  at  me,  for  instance.  I  don't  want  to  be  an 
officer,  and  neither  does  Randy.  And  Gif  here 
would  rather  continue  at  the  head  of  our  ath- 
letics." 

"Yes,  but  you  fellows  are  not  the  whole  school," 
declared  Jack,  with  a  smile. 

"I  know  lots  of  fellows  who  want  you  to  run," 
declared  Spouter.  "And  you  say  the  word  and  I'll 
go  around  and  do  a  lot  of  electioneering  for  you." 

The  matter  was  talked  over  a  good  many 
times,  and  fully  twenty  of  the  cadets  came  to 
Jack  and  told  him  they  wanted  him  to  run  for 
the  office  of  major.  And  finally  he  consented. 

"Hello,  here's  news!"  burst  out  Fatty  Hendry, 
one  day,  as  he  joined  his  chums.  "It's  the  richest 
thing  ever,"  and  he  grinned  broadly. 


90      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"What's  that  ?"  questioned  Dan  Soppinger,  who 
was  present. 

"I  just  heard  through  Teddy  Brown  that 
Brassy  Bangs  wants  to  run  for  major.  That  he 
even  told  one  of  the  professors  about  it." 

"Why,  he  can't  do  that !"  declared  Fred  quickly. 
"That  is,  not  without  special  permission  from 
Colonel  Colby  or  Captain  Dale.  The  major  is 
always  chosen  from  among  the  captains  and  lieu- 
tenants, or  those  who  have  been  officers  before. 
That  is,  if  there  is  any  one  to  pick.  It's  only 
Colonel  Colby  or  Captain  Dale  who  can  declare 
the  election  open  to  any  one.  You  can't  put  a 
fellow  who  has  just  learned  to  handle  a  gun  to 
march  at  the  head  of  the  battalion." 

"Well,  of  course  Brassy  didn't  know  that,  and 
he  wouldn't  believe  it  until  Captain  Dale  explained 
it  to  him.  And  then  he  said  he  thought  he  ought 
to  be  able  to  hold  the  position  because  he  was  one 
of  the  best  shots  in  the  school." 

"Well,  he  certainly  is  a  good  shot,"  declared 
Fred.  "I  saw  him  shooting  at  a  target  one  day 
and  he  certainly  made  some  marvelous  hits." 

"He  comes  from  the  West — from  some  place 
where  everybody  knows  how  to  shoot,"  declared 
Walt  Baxter.  "I  heard  him  telling  some  of  the 
fellows  about  it  one  day.  He  said  he  had  learned 
to  ride  and  to  shoot  when  he  was  only  six  or  seven 


A  FIGHT  AND  A  CHALLENGE  91 

years  old.  And  he  can  ride,  all  right  enough,  too. 
I  saw  him  do  it  one  day  when  I  was  on  the  road 
back  of  the  Point." 

"Well,  I  think  a  few  of  us  can  do  a  little 
shooting,"  declared  Andy.  "Don't  forget  that 
out  of  a  possible  twenty-five  points  Fred  once 
made  nineteen  and  Jack  eighteen." 

"Oh,  yes,  I  remember  that,"  put  in  Ned  Lowe. 
"That  was  the  time  Lew  Barrow  scored  twenty." 

"Yes,  and  the  time  I  scored  the  whole  of  ten," 
chuckled  Andy.  "But  I  don't  care,"  he  added 
proudly.  "I  guess  I  brought  down  my  share  of 
small  game  when  we  went  hunting." 

The  talk  concerning  Brassy  Bangs  wanting  to 
run  for  the  office  of  major  was  true,  and  the 
cadet  was  much  disgusted  when  he  found  that 
the  regulations  of  the  Hall  forbade  this. 

"I  can  beat  any  one  of  them  at  shooting,"  he 
grumbled  to  Paul  Halliday,  one  of  his  particular 
cronies  and  the  fellow  who  had  aided  in  trying  to 
get  up  the  sleighing  party. 

"Of  course  you  can,"  was  Halliday's  quick  re- 
ply. Then  he  went  on :  "Say,  Lest,  why  don't  you 
challenge  Jack  Rover  and  his  cousin  Fred  to  shoot 
against  you?  You  can  show  'em  up  in  great 
shape.  It  would  be  better  than  fighting  them." 

"I'll  do  it!"  announced  Brassy  promptly,  for 
the  idea  was  one  that  appealed  to  him.  "I'll  shoot 


92   THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

against  them  with  either  pistols  or  rifles,  just  as 
they  may  choose.  I'll  show  'em  up  for  a  couple 
of  dubs  when  it  conies  to  handling  firearms." 

"That's  the  talk!"  broke  in  Billy  Sands,  an- 
other of  Bangs'  chums.  "You  say  the  word  and 
Paul  and  I  will  take  the  challenge  to  the  Rovers 
right  away." 

"All  provided  Colonel  Colby  or  Captain  Dale 
will  permit  the  contest,"  said  Brassy  sourly. 
**Maybe  that's  another  one  of  the  things  their 
dirty  rules  won't  allow." 

The  matter  was  talked  over  for  a  while  longer, 
and  the  three  boys  went  off  to  interview  Captain 
Dale.  He  listened  to  them  with  a  smile,  and  then 
nodded. 

"Of  course  you  can  have  a  contest  of  that  sort 
if  you  desire,  Bangs,"  he  said  presently. 

Following  this  the  challenge  to  Jack  and  Fred 
was  promptly  issued.  It,  of  course,  came  as  a 
surprise  to  the  Rovers. 

"We  ought  not  to  dirty  our  hands  with  a  fel- 
low like  Bangs,"  declared  the  young  captain  to 
Fred. 

"Oh,  we  can't  afford  to  refuse,  Jack!"  cried 
his  cousin.  "If  we  did  the  fellows  in  the  Hall 
would  think  we  were  afraid." 

And  thereupon  the  challenge  was  accepted. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   SHOOTING   CONTEST 

IT  WAS  decided  that  the  shooting  contest  should 
take  place  the  next  day. 

"It  doesn't  give  us  much  time  to  practice," 
grumbled  Fred. 

"We  might  as  well  have  it  over  with,"  an- 
swered Jack.  "There  is  no  use  of  allowing  it  to 
interfere  with  our  lessons  or  with  the  coming 
election  for  officers." 

"Do  you  think  we  can  shoot  as  well  as  Brassy  ?" 

"We  can  try,  Fred.  From  all  reports  he's  quite 
a  wonderful  shot.  It  seems  he  comes  from  a  place 
where  everybody  is  used  to  firearms." 

It  had  been  decided  to  hold  the  contest  on  the 
regular  range  back  of  the  school  grounds.  Fred 
and  Jack  had  been  in  favor  of  rifles,  but  the  boy 
from  the  West  had  voted  in  favor  of  pistols.  As 
a  consequence,  Captain  Dale  had  told  them  the 
contest  would  be  divided  into  two  parts  of  a  pos- 
sible fifteen  points  each,  the  first  part  to  take  place 
with  pistols  and  the  second  with  rifles. 

93 


94      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  Bra  HORN  RANCH 

"Say,  you  fellows  have  just  got  to  snow  Brassy 
under !"  cried  Randy.  "Don't  leave  him  a  leg  to 
stand  on." 

"That's  easy  enough  to  say,  Randy,"  answered 
Jack.  "But  it  isn't  so  easy  to  do." 

"I  know  it,  and  I  was  only  fooling.  How- 
ever, do  your  best  and  make  some  kind  of  show- 
ing against  that  loud-mouthed  fellow." 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  contest  Jack  and 
Fred  received  permission  to  take  rifles  and  pistols 
and  do  a  little  practicing  with  the  firearms.  They 
went  out  alone,  not  wishing  to  be  disturbed  by 
any  one. 

As  they  were  crossing  the  fields  they  saw  a 
figure  coming  from  a  side  road.  The  person  ap- 
proaching had  the  cape  of  his  overcoat  drawn  up 
tightly  around  his  throat  and  wore  his  cap  pulled 
down  well  over  his  forehead. 

"That  fellow  looked  like  Brassy  Bangs,"  de- 
clared Fred,  as  the  distant  figure  leaped  over  a 
hedge  and  disappeared. 

"It  certainly  did  look  like  Brassy,"  answered 
his  cousin.  "But  what  in  the  world  could  he  be 
doing  out  so  early  in  the  morning?" 

"Maybe  he  was  practicing  a  little  on  his  own 
account." 

"He  didn't  have  any  gun  with  him." 

"That's  right.     But  he  might  have  a  pistol." 


THE  SHOOTING   CONTEST  95 

"He  never  struck  me  as  a  fellow  who  would 
get  up  so  very  early.  He  always  appeared  to  be 
rather  lazy.  And  besides  that,  he  didn't  come 
from  the  range.  He  came  from  the  river  road." 

"I  know  it,  Jack.  Maybe  he's  been  out  all 
night  for  a  good  time  with  some  of  those  fellows 
from  town." 

After  this  the  two  Rovers  lost  no  time  in  hurry- 
ing to  the  rifle  range,  and  there  practised  with 
their  pistols  and  their  rifles  until  it  was  time  to 
return  to  the  Hall  for  roll  call  and  the  drill  be- 
fore breakfast. 

"Well,  we  may  not  win,  but  we'll  make  some 
kind  of  a  showing,"  remarked  Fred. 

It  was  a  clear  day,  the  air  just  bracing  enough 
to  put  the  cadets  of  Colby  Hall  in  good  spirits. 
When  the  time  came  for  the  contest  nearly  all  of 
them  hurried  to  the  range. 

"Now  then,  Lest,  show  'em  what  you  can  do !" 
cried  Paul  Halliday. 

"The  Rovers  won't  have  a  look-in !"  broke  out 
Billy  Sands.  "It  will  be  a  regular  walk-away  for 
Lest." 

"Don't  be  so  sure  of  that,"  answered  Gif. 

"Brassy  may  be  all  right  enough  with  a  pis- 
tol; but  don't  forget  that  Jack  and  Fred  know 
how  to  handle  a  rifle,"  added  Spouter. 

A  coin  was  tossed  up  and  it  was  thereby  de- 


96      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

cided  that  the  contest  with  pistols  should  take 
place  first.  Each  contestant  was  to  shoot  three 
times,  the  rings  on  the  target  counting  from  i 
to  5.  The  three  contestants  were  to  shoot  in 
rotation,  Fred  first,  Brassy  second,  and  Jack  last. 

If  Fred  was  a  trifle  nervous  when  he  went  to 
the  front  to  shoot,  he  did  his  best  to  control  it. 
Taking  as  careful  aim  as  possible,  he  fired. 

"A  three!" 

"That's  good  enough  for  a  starter !" 

With  a  self-satisfied  look  on  his  face,  Brassy 
Bangs  strode  forward,  took  quick  aim,  and  fired. 

"A  bull's-eye !"  shouted  Billy  Sands  in  delight. 

"I  told  you  he  could  do  it !"  added  Paul  Halli- 
day. 

When  Jack  came  to  the  front  he  managed  to 
make  a  4. 

"That's  the  stuff!"  cried  Randy.  "You're  only 
one  point  behind !" 

On  the  second  round  Fred  managed  to  make  a 
4,  while  Jack  scored  a  3,  thus  tying  the  Rovers. 
Brassy  scored  a  4. 

"Seven  to  nine  in  favor  of  Bangs !" 

Then  came  the  third  round,  and  again  Fred 
scored  a  3  and  Jack  did  likewise,  while  Brassy 
delighted  his  cronies  by  scoring  another  bull's- 
eye. 

"A  total  of  ten  each  for  the  Rovers !" 


THE   SHOOTING    CONTEST  97 

"And  fourteen  for  Bangs  !"• 

"I  told  you  Lest  could  hold  'em  down !"  shouted 
Billy  Sands. 

"Just  wait  till  they  shoot  with  the  rifles.  He'll 
walk  away  from  'em !"  added  Paul  Halliday. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  Rovers  and  their 
chums  were  somewhat  disappointed  that  the  score 
stood  four  points  in  favor  of  Brassy. 

"Now,  Fred,  do  your  best,"  whispered  Andy 
to  his  cousin,  as  the  latter  went  to  the  front  after 
carefully  examining  the  rifle  handed  to  him  by 
Captain  Dale. 

The  firearm  was  a  light  affair,  but  of  approved 
pattern  and  supposed  to  be  quite  accurate  for  use 
at  a  distance  of  two  hundred  yards. 

Fred  took  longer  to  aim  with  the  rifle  than  he 
had  with  the  pistol,  and  there  was  a  breathless  si- 
lence until  after  the  report  rang  out. 

"A  four!" 

"That's  the  stuff,  Fred!" 

"Now,  Brassy,  let  us  see  what  you  ean  do !" 

As  confident  as  ever,  Brassy  Bangs  came  to  the 
front,  took  the  rifle  handed  to  him,  and  shot 
rather  hastily. 

"A  three!" 

Jack  was  up  next,  and  to  the  dismay  of  many 
of  his  friends  made  only  a  2. 

Then  came  the  second  round  with  rifles,  and 


98      THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

in  that  Fred  scored  a  4,  Bangs  a  I,  and  Jack  a  3. 

"Hurrah!  Fred  Rover  and  Brassy  Bangs  are 
tied  with  eighteen  points  each." 

"And  Jack  Rover  has  fifteen  points." 

Then  came  the  final  round,  and  amid  a  breath- 
less silence  Fred  shot  and  scored  a  bull's-eye. 
Then  came  Bangs,  and  made  a  2.  And  Jack  ended 
the  contest  with  a  bull's-eye. 

"Hurrah!  Fred  Rover  wins  the  match  with 
twenty-three  points !" 

"Yes,  and  Jack  Rover  and  Brassy  Bangs  are 
tied  for  second  place  with  twenty  each !" 

"Hurrah  for  Fred  Rover!" 

"Pretty  good  shooting,  I'll  say!" 

"It  was  all  to  the  merry,  Fred!"  exclaimed 
Jack,  as  he  caught  his  cousin's  hand.  "You  did 
fine!" 

"The  best  ever!"  burst  out  Andy. 

"Say,  Jack,  why  don't  you  and  Brassy  shoot 
off  the  tie?"  questioned  Spouter. 

"I'm  willing,"  was  the  ready  reply  of  the  young 
captain. 

"I'll  shoot  off  the  tie  with  pistols,"  put  in  Brassy 
quickly. 

"No,  let  it  be  with  rifles,"  broke  in  Randy. 

"I'll  tell  you  what  I  think  would  be  fair,"  an- 
nounced Captain  Dale.  "Each  of  you  take  one 
shot  with  a  rifle  and  one  shot  with  a  pistol."  And 


THE   SHOOTING    CONTEST  99 

after  quite  a  little  discussion  it  was  so  agreed. 

The  pistols  were  used  first,  and  there  Brassy  - 
made  a  bull's-eye  while  Jack  managed  to  regis- 
ter a  4.    Then  the  rifles  were  used,  and  here  Jack, 
shooting  first,   made  a  bull's-eye   while  Brassy 
got  a  2. 

"Hurrah!  Nine  to  seven  in  favor  of  Captain 
Rover!" 

"Some  shooting,  Jack!" 

"If  you  had  shot  as  good  as  that  in  the  first 
contest  you  might  have  beaten  Fred." 

"I'm  quite  content,  even  if  I  didn't  beat  Fred," 
announced  the  young  captain,  with  a  smile. 

Brassy  Bangs  was  quite  gloomy  over  the  out- 
come of  the  contest,  and  he  and  his  cronies  lost 
no  time  in  quitting  the  range. 

"I'm  mighty  glad  you  two  fellows  beat  him," 
announced  Gif.  "Maybe  it  will  take  a  little  of 
the  conceit  out  of  him." 

"Well,  Gif,  you've  got  to  admit  he's  a  wonder- 
ful shot  with  the  pistol,"  answered  Jack. 

"Yes.  And  his  rifle  work  isn't  any  worse  than 
mine,"  answered  Andy.  "Now,  I'll  promise  to 
make  a  lot  of  bull's-eyes  for  you  if  you'll  let  me 
use  a  good-sized  shotgun  or  a  blunderbuss,"  and 
at  this  there  was  a  snicker. 

For  the  rest  of  that  day  Brassy  Bangs  had  lit- 
tle to  say.  But  the  next  morning  he  was  as  loud- 


100    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

mouthed  as  ever,  declaring  that  he  would  have 
won  the  contest  had  he  been  allowed  to  use  his 
own  pistol — a  long  affair  of  the  old-fashioned 
western  variety. 

"Had  he  done  that  it  might  have  given  him  one 
more  point,"  declared  Randy.  "Of  course  that 
would  have  put  him  ahead  of  Jack  in  the  first 
contest,  but  it  wouldn't  have  helped  him  when  it 
came  to  the  rifle  work." 

"Oh,  let's  drop  Brassy,"  said  Jack.  "I  am  really 
getting  tired  of  hearing  of  him." 

"I  can't  bear  him,"  put  in  Phil  Franklin. 
"Once  or  twice  he  has  tried  to  become  chummy 
with  me,  but  I've  always  given  him  the  cold 
shoulder." 

It  was  now  drawing  on  toward  the  time  for 
the  election,  and  there  was  a  great  deal  of  wire- 
pulling among  the  various  cadets  as  to  who  might 
run  for  the  offices.  Three  names  were  in  the  field 
for  the  office  of  major:  Jack,  a  Captain  Glasby, 
and  a  Lieutenant  Harkness. 

Glasby  was  a  fellow  who  was  very  well  liked, 
while  Harkness  was  a  lieutenant  who  at  one  time 
had  been  more  or  less  of  a  crony  of  Nappy  Mar- 
tell,  Gabe  Werner,  and  others  of  the  crowd  that 
had  been  opposed  to  the  Rover  boys. 

"Well,  I  sha'n't  complain  if  Glasby  gets  the  po- 
sition," declared  Jack.  "But  I'd  hate  mightily  to 


THE   SHOOTING   CONTEST  IQI 

see  Lieutenant  Harkness  at  the  head  of  the  school 
battalion." 

"I  never  liked  Harkness  myself,"  put  in 
Spouter.  "He  isn't  a  bit  better  in  many  respects 
than  Gabe  Werner." 

It  was  soon  noised  around  the  school  that 
Brassy  Bangs  and  his  cronies  were  doing  their 
best  for  Harkness,  while  another  crowd,  led  by 
Bart  White,  were  rooting  in  rather  a  lively  fash- 
ion for  Captain  Glasby. 

"We've  got  to  get  busy  for  Jack,"  said  Gif  to 
Spouter.  "Come  on!  Let's  sound  out  all  the 
fellows  in  the  Hall  we  think  we  can  influence." 
And  thereupon  he  and  Spouter  and  a  number  of 
others  set  to  work  to  electioneer  for  Jack  as  hard 
as  they  could. 

Several  days  before  the  election  Andy  and 
Randy  obtained  permission  to  go  to  Haven  Point 
on  an  errand.  It  was  rather  a  disagreeable, 
misty  day,  and  they  were  tramping  along  through 
the  mud  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town  when  they 
saw  Brassy  Bangs  and  a  stranger  ahead  of  them. 
The  stranger  was  a  tall,  thin  individual,  dressed 
in  an  old-fashioned  suit  of  rusty  black  and  with 
a  big  slouch  hat  pulled  well  down  over  his  head. 
He  was  puffing  away  at  a  large  black  cigar,  and 
seemed  to  be  very  much  in  earnest  in  what  he 
was  saying  to  Brassy. 


102     THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

'SI 

"1  saw  that  fellow  around  the  school  about  a 

week  ago,"  declared  Randy.  "He  didn't  look 
like  a  very  nice  sort,  either." 

"He  certainly  has  a  fierce-looking  mustache," 
was  Andy's  comment.  "And  it's  as  red  as  his 
hair." 

"I  tell  you  I  can't  do  it,  and  that's  all  there  is 
to  it,"  the  boys  heard  Brassy  exclaim,  in  reply  to 
something  the  stranger  had  said. 

"And  I  say  you've  got  to  do  it,"  returned  the 
man,  and  his  tone  was  decidedly  ugly.  "You've 
got  to  do  it — or  otherwise  you've  got  to  take  the 
consequences." 

"You  wouldn't  be  so  mean,  Haddon!"  pleaded 
Brassy,  and  now  the  Rovers  could  see  that  he 
was  more  or  less  scared. 

"Wouldn't  I?"  returned  the  strange  man 
harshly.  "You  just  try  me  and  see!  The  best 
thing  you  can  do  is  to  agree  to  what  I  said.  If 

you  don't,  well "  and  here  the  tall  man 

shrugged  his  shoulders — "you'll  do  as  I  said  be- 
fore— or  you'll  take  the  consequences." 


CHAPTER  X 

SPOUTER'S  SECRET 

"SAT,  this  is  rather  interesting,"  remarked 
Randy  in  a  low  tone  to  his  brother. 

"That  fellow  is  certainly  threatening  Brassy," 
returned  Andy.  "I  wonder  what  it  can  be  all 
about." 

"He  wants  Brassy  to  do  something." 

The  two  Rovers  kept  on  behind  Bangs  and  the 
man  called  Haddon,  and  presently  saw  them  turn 
down  a  side  street  where  was  located  a  small  fac- 
tory that  had  been  in  operation  during  the  war 
but  which  was  now  closed.  Both  disappeared 
into  a  shed  attached  to  the  factory. 

"Let's  see  if  we  can  find  out  what  it's  all  about," 
said  Randy. 

"I'm  willing,"  answered  his  twin.  "Maybe  that 
fellow  will  grow  abusive  and  hurt  Brassy." 

"Well,  a  good  licking  wouldn't  hurt  him,"  an- 
swered his  brother,  with  a  grin. 

"Oh,  that's  all  right.  But  we  don't  want  to  see 
him  half  killed  even  if  we  don't  like  him." 

103 


104    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"You  trust  Brassy  to  take  care  of  himself,"  was 
the  quick  reply. 

The  twins  hurried  to  the  shed  and  there  found 
that  the  door  had  been  left  open  and  that  the  man 
and  their  fellow-cadet  had  gone  into  another  part 
of  the  low  building. 

"You  know  as  well  as  I  do  that  that  barn  and 
them  hosses  was  worth  at  least  twelve  thousand 
dollars,"  the  man  was  saying  to  Brassy.  "That 
was  a  big  loss  for  John  Calder." 

"Please  don't  say  another  word  about  it!" 
pleaded  Brassy. 

"I  won't  if  you'll  do  as  I  told  you  to." 

"But  I've  let  you  have  a  hundred  and  ten  dol- 
lars already !  It's  every  cent  I  can  spare !" 

"Well,  I've  got  to  have  more." 

"I'll  bet  you've  been  gambling  it  away,  Had- 
don." 

"It's  none  of  your  business  what  Bud  Haddon 
does  with  his  money!"  exclaimed  the  stranger, 
with  a  toss  of  his  head  and  blowing  a  ring  of  to- 
bacco smoke  toward  the  ceiling  of  the  shed.  "If 
you  don't  want  me  to  start  things  you  do  as  I  told 
you  to." 

"Do  you  know  what  I  think!"  exclaimed 
Brassy,  after  a  pause.  "I  think  those  tramp  cow- 
boys were  guilty." 

"You  can't  put  that  orF  on  no  cowboys!"  ex- 


SPOUTER'S   SECRET  105 

claimed  Bud  Haddon.  "I  know  all  about  it,  and 
so  do  Jillson  and  Dusenbury." 

"They  don't  know  anything — at  least  they  don't 
know  anything  about  me!"  cried  Brassy.  But  it 
was  plainly  to  be  seen  that  he  was  exceedingly 
nervous.  "Somebody's  been  cooking  up  a  story 
against  me!" 

"Ain't  nobody  cookin*  up  nothing"  growled  the 
man.  "I  know  what  I'm  talkin'  about.  You'd 
better  get  busy  if  you  know  when  you're  well  off. 
If  you  don't,  and  your  uncle  gets  wind  of  this — - 
well,  good-night  for  you!" 

"Oh,  don't  say  anything  to  my  uncle !  Please 
don't!" 

"Well,  then  you  get  busy.  I've  hung  around 
here  about  as  long  as  I  intend  to.  I'm  goin'  back 
to  Chicago  in  a  few  days." 

At  this  juncture  the  Rovers  heard  a  noise  out- 
side, and  several  boys  playing  hide-and-seek  ap- 
peared. Not  wishing  to  be  discovered  by  Brassy 
and  his  companion,  Andy  and  Randy  hurried  out 
into  the  street  and  up  to  the  corner.  Here  they 
waited  for  a  while,  and  presently  saw  Brassy  and 
Bud  Haddon  come  forth.  The  man  sauntered 
away  in  the  direction  of  the  town  while  Brassy 
sped  off  on  the  winding  road  leading  to  Colby 
Hall. 

"Now  what  do  you  make  of  this?"  questioned. 


106    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

Randy,  as  he  and  his  brother  continued  on  their 
errand. 

"It  looks  rather  suspicious  to  me,"  answered 
Andy.  "It  looks  as  if  Brassy  had  done  something 
that  wasn't  right  and  this  man  was  going  to  ex- 
pose him  unless  Brassy  paid  over  some  hush 
money." 

"Yes,  and  from  what  Brassy  said,  he  evidently 
has  already  paid  the  man  one  hundred  and  ten 
dolors." 

Cti  the  way  back  to  Colby  Hall  after  their  er- 
ran»!  was  finished  the  twins  discussed  the  matter, 
but  could  arrive  at  no  satisfactory  conclusion. 
That  evening  they  told  their  cousins  of  what  they 
had  heard,  and  also  mentioned  the  matter  to  Gif 
and  Spouter. 

"It  looks  to  me  as  if  that  Bud  Haddon  had  a 
hold  on  Brassy,"  remarked  Jack.  "But  whether 
Brassy  is  really  guilty  or  not  of  some  wrong- 
doing remains  to  be  found  out." 

"I  wouldn't  put  it  past  him  to  do  something  that 
wasn't  right,"  came  from  Fred. 

"That  remains  to  be  seen,  Fred.  Brassy  might 
do  some  things  that  we  wouldn't  do;  but  at  the 
same  time  I  doubt  if  he's  so  very  bad  at  heart. 
He's  loud-mouthed  and  has  a  hasty  temper,  and 
he  likes  to  show  off,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing, 
but  that  doesn't  say  he's  a  criminal." 


SPOVTER'S   SECRET  IO/ 

"That  Bud  Haddon  looks  like  a  bad  one,"  an- 
nounced Randy.  "I  wouldn't  trust  him  with  a 
nickel." 

"It  certainly  is  a  mystery,"  came  from  Fred. 
"Just  the  same  as  it's  a  mystery  about  Professor 
Duke." 

"Gosh,  don't  mention  Duke!"  broke  out  Gif. 
"I  had  all  I  could  do  to  keep  from  getting  into  a 
row  with  him  this  morning.  He  certainly  is  a 
tart  one  at  times." 

"But  he  looks  troubled,"  answered  Jack. 
"Ever  since  Colonel  Colby  spoke  about  him  I've 
been  watching  him  carefully.  And,  believe  me, 
that  man  has  something  on  his  mind  that's  far 
from  pleasant." 

"He  certainly  comes  and  goes  a  good  deal," 
said  Spouter.  "He  was  away  several  hours  last 
night  and  the  night  before.  And  I  understand 
he's  going  away  to-morrow  afternoon  again." 

"Colonel  Colby  must  know  it's  all  right. 
Otherwise  he  wouldn't  let  him  go  away  so  much," 
declared  Gif. 

On  the  following  morning  when  the  mail  was 
distributed  Spouter  received  a  letter  from  his 
father  that  interested  him  greatly.  He  read  the 
communication  several  times,  and  then,  placing  it 
in  his  pocket,  ran  off  to  where  he  had  left  Gif. 

"Come  on,   Gif!"  he  cried  gayly.     "I've  got 


IOS    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

great  news !  Come  ahead  and  help  find  the  Rov- 
ers." 

"What's  the  news?"  demanded  the  other,  as 
they  hurried  on  side  by  side. 

"Just  wait  and  I'll  tell  you  all  about  it — 
maybe."  And  then  Spouter  stopped  short,  struck 
by  a  sudden  idea.  He  thought  for  a  few  seconds 
and  then  his  face  broke  into  a  broad  smile. 

The  two  boys  found  the  Rovers  up  in  Room 
20,  which  the  four  cousins  used  as  a  sitting  room. 
All  were  busy  studying  and  looked  up  in  surprise 
as  Spouter  dashed  in  with  Gif  at  his  heels. 

"Glorious  news,  boys!  Glorious  news!"  sang 
out  Spouter,  as  he  beamed  at  them. 

"What  is  it?"  they  demanded  in  chorus. 

"Glorious,  I  tell  you,  glorious !"  Spouter  waved 
his  hands  eloquently.  "Why  remain  cooped  up 
here  within  the  dingy  walls  of  a  school  when  the 
mighty  plains,  the  boundless  forests,  the  leaping 
streams,  and  the  azure  blue  of  the  skies  await 
you?  Why  snuff  the  tainted  air  of  the  musty 
classroom  when  the  free  ozone  of  the  hills  and 
mountains  beckons  to  you  ?  Why  waste  time  over 
musty  books  when  rifle  and  fishing  rod  can  be 
had,  when  one  can  fling  himself  in  the  saddle  and 
go  dashing  madly  across  the " 

"Jumping  crabs  and  hopping  mud  turtles !"  ex- 
claimed Andy.  "Spouter  has  got  'em  again !" 


SPOUTER'S   SECRET  109 

"What  is  this,  Spouter  ?"  demanded  Randy.  "A 
moving  picture,  or  just  a  plain  everyday  night- 
mare ?" 

"Ha,  ha !"  continued  Spouter,  prancing  around. 
"Whoopee!  Bang!  Bang!  Let  her  go,  boys! 
Lasso  him  quick  before  he  gets  away!"  and  the 
talkative  cadet  made  a  movement  as  if  throwing 
a  lasso. 

"Say,  Spouter,  come  down  to  earth,  will  you  ?" 
cried  Jack,  grabbing  his  chum  by  the  shoulder. 
"What's  the  matter  with  you?" 

"Maybe  he  swallowed  a  few  yeast  cakes  by 
mistake,"  remarked  Andy. 

"It's  the  best  news  ever,  fellows!"  went  on 
Spouter.  "I  got  it  this  morning." 

"All  right !  Let's  have  it,"  came  quickly  from 
Fred. 

"I've  been  waiting  for  this  news  for  several 
weeks." 

"News  from  where  ?"  came  from  the  others. 

"News  from  home." 

"From  your  dad?"  questioned  Randy. 

"Exactly." 

"What  has  he  done  now — bought  you  an  auto- 
mobile?" questioned  Gif. 

"Better  than  that!" 

"For  goodness'  sake,  spill  out  what  you've  got 
to  say!"  returned  Fred,  in  exasperation. 


1 10  THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"When  we  went  to  Cedar  Lodge  on  our  grand 
hunt  we  were  Gif's  guests,"  resumed  Spouter. 
"This  summer  the  tables  are  to  be  turned,  and  all 
of  you  are  to  be  the  guests  of  yours  truly." 

"Gee,  that  sounds  interesting,  Spouter!"  cried 
Randy. 

"Where  do  we  go  and  when?"  questioned  his 
twin. 

"You're  to  go  just  as  soon  as  school  shuts  down 
and  you  can  get  ready." 

"And  where  to?"  questioned  Jack  curiously. 

"Ha!  that's  the  deep,  dark  and  delightful  se- 
cret," returned  Spouter.  "You're  all  to  be  my 
guests,  and  I'll  promise  you  the  time  of  your  lives. 
Oh,  boys,  but  this  is  going  to  be  something  great !" 
And  the  cadet  playfully  pounded  one  and  another 
on  the  shoulder  with  his  fist. 

"But  how  can  we  go  if  we  don't  know  where 
we're  going?"  asked  Fred. 

"You'll  know,  Fred,  before  you're  on  the  way," 
was  the  mysterious  answer.  "And,  believe  me, 
after  you've  found  out  you  won't  want  to  turn 
back." 

"What!  do  you  mean  you're  not  going  to  tell 
us  where  we're  going?"  demanded  Jack,  in  aston- 
ishment. 

"Exactly,  Jack.  That's  going  to  be  my  little 
secret  until  this  school  shuts  up,"  and  Spouter 


SP OUTER'S   SECRET  III 

folded  his  arms  calmly  and  grinned  at  all  his 
chums. 

They  looked  at  him  in  blank  amazement.  This 
was  a  proceeding  that  had  never  happened  before. 
Suddenly  Gif  made  a  dash  forward. 

"Let's  pound  it  out  of  him !" 

"That's  the  talk !    We'll  make  him  tell !" 

"Pull  him  down  and  sit  on  him!" 

"Pull  off  his  shoes  and  tickle  his  feet!  He's 
got  to  tell !" 

"Poke  him  in  the  ribs !" 

"He  got  a  letter  this  morning.  I'll  bet  the 
news  is  in  that!"  shouted  Gif.  "It's  in  his  pocket 
now !" 

All  attempted  to  pounce  upon  Spouter,  but  he 
was  too  quick  for  them,  and,  dashing  across  the 
room,  he  shot  into  Fred's  bedroom,  banging  the 
door  after  him.  Then,  as  the  others  followed, 
he  ran  out  into  the  corridor  and  then  sped  for  his 
own  room,  where  he  locked  the  door  behind  him. 
Then  he  hid  the  letter  in  a  place  where  he  was 
sure  none  of  his  chums  would  find  it. 

"Well,  this  takes  the  bakery!"  announced 
Randy,  after  all  of  them  had  pounded  on  Spout- 
er's  door  in  vain.  "What  do  you  suppose  it 
means  ?" 

"It's  simple  enough,"  remarked  Jack.  "Spouter 
is  going  to  invite  us  on  some  sort  of  outing  this 


1 12    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

summer,  but  he  doesn't  want  to  tell  us  yet  what 
sort  it's  to  be." 

"He  spoke  about  mountains  and  rivers  and 
horseback  riding/'  said  Randy.  "That  looks  like 
some  sort  of  outdoor  affair,"  and  his  eyes  glis- 
tened. 

"Come  on  out,  Spouter,  and  let  us  love  you  a 
little,"  called  Fred  through  the  keyhole. 

"You  go  on  down  and  I'll  meet  you  down- 
stairs," was  the  reply.  "And  remember,  you're 
not  to  know  another  word  about  this  until  vaca- 
tion comes." 

"Going  to  take  us  away  in  a  submarine, 
Spouter?"  demanded  Andy. 

"No,  he's  going  to  take  us  in  an  airship  to  the 
south  pole,"  declared  his  twin. 

"Never  mind  where  I'm  going  to  take  you," 
answered  Spouter.  "You  just  keep  calm  until 
vacation  time  comes,  and  then  you'll  learn  fast 
enough  in  what  direction  you're  going  to  travel. 
And,  believe  me,  we'll  have  some  outing,  or  else 
I'll  miss  my  guess." 

And  with  this  statement  the  Rover  boys  and 
Grif  had  to  be  content. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE   ELECTION    FOR   OFFICERS 

"COMPANY  attention!  Shoulder  arms!  For- 
ward march!" 

Boom !    Boom !    Boom,  boom,  boom ! 

The  drums  rang  out  clearly  on  the  morning  air 
and  the  Colby  Hall  battalion  swung  into  line  on  a 
march  that  carried  it  around  the  school  buildings 
and  then  to  the  lake  shore.  Here  Colonel  Colby 
and  Captain  Dale  inspected  the  three  companies. 
Then  the  retiring  major,  Ralph  Mason,  was  called 
on  for  a  little  speech  which  brought  forth  many 
cheers,  and  after  this  the  command  was  dis- 
missed. 

It  was  the  day  for  the  election,  and  there  was 
to  be  no  school  session  until  the  afternoon. 

At  the  last  election  there  had  been  a  total  of 
in  votes  cast.  But  now  there  were  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  cadets  at  the  institution.  There 
had  been  some  talk  of  organizing  a  new  command 
to  be  known  as  Company  D,  but  so  far  this  had 
not  materialized. 

113 


1 14    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

As  was  the  custom,  the  election  was  held  in 
the  main  hall  of  the  school  and  was  presided  over 
by  Captain  Dale  and  Professor  Brice. 

"I  see  they  expect  a  hundred  and  twenty-five 
votes,"  remarked  Randy.  "That  means  sixty- 
three  will  be  necessary  to  a  choice." 

"Well,  I'm  sure  Jack  will  get  at  least  forty  on 
the  first  vote,"  returned  his  brother. 

"I  hope  he  gets  the  whole  sixty-three,"  put  in 
Dan  Soppinger.  Dan  had  once  run  for  a  cap- 
taincy, but  had  dropped  out  and  turned  most  of 
his  attention  to  athletics. 

As  at  other  elections,  it  was  decided  by  Colonel 
Colby  that  each  officer  should  be  voted  for  sepa- 
rately. 

"We'll  try  for  a  new  major  first,"  announced 
the  head  of  the  Hall. 

The  ballot  box  \vas  placed  on  the  table,  and 
after  a  short  intermission  during  which  there  was 
some  very  active  electioneering  among  the  va- 
rious groups  assembled,  a  bell  rang  and  the  cadets 
were  formed  in  one  long  line  and  told  to  march 
up  and  deposit  their  ballots  in  the  box. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  Jack  was  rather 
anxious,  although  he  did  his  best  to  conceal  it.  He 
smiled  at  Captain  Glasby,  who  smiled  back.  Then 
he  smiled  at  Lieutenant  Harkness,  but  that  under- 
officer  only  favored  him  with  a  scowl. 


THE  ELECTION  FOR   OFFICERS  115 

"Harkness  will  never  win  anything  with  that 
look  on  his  face,"  was  Gif's  comment,  as  he  no- 
ticed the  scowl.  "The  fellows  like  an  officer  who 
can  take  things  pleasantly." 

It  did  not  take  the  cadets  long  to  vote,  and  as 
soon  as  all  of  the  ballots  had  been  cast  Captain 
Dale,  assisted  by  Professor  Brice,  began  to  tabu- 
late the  vote.  In  less  than  ten  minutes  they  had 
finished.  Then  a  bell  rang  and  Captain  Dale  came 
forward  to  read  the  result. 

"Total  number  of  votes  cast 125 

Necessary  to  a  choice 63 

Louis  Glasby  has 51 

Jack  Rover  has 50 

Darrell  Harkness  has 24" 

"What  do  you  know  about  that!"  exclaimed 
Fred.  "Jack  and  Glasby  are  within  one  vote  of 
each  other!" 

"I'll  say  that's  getting  pretty  close,"  answered 
Randy. 

"As  no  cadet  has  received  the  number  of  votes 
necessary  to  a  choice,  I  will  give  the  school  a 
recess  for  fifteen  minutes.  Then  we  will  vote 
again — for  the  same  cadets  or  for  new  ones  if 
you  feel  so  inclined." 

After  this  brief  announcement  by  Captain  Dale 


1 16    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

came  a  hum  of  voices  and  there  was  some  strenu- 
ous electioneering  in  all  parts  of  the  hall  and  also 
in  the  corridors  and  out  on  the  campus. 

"Glasby  is  stronger  than  I  thought  he  was," 
remarked  Gif  to  Jack.  "We'll  have  to  do  some 
tall  work  to  overcome  his  vote." 

"I  think  we  can  get  some  of  the  Harkness  fel- 
lows to  come  over  to  us,"  put  in  Spouter.  "I 
don't  believe  he's  as  popular  as  he  thinks." 

"Maybe  we  can  get  him  to  withdraw,"  sug- 
gested Andy,  with  a  grin. 

"Withdraw,  not !"  broke  out  Fred.  "He's  not 
that  sort." 

While  the  conversation  was  going  on  some- 
body touched  Jack  on  the  shoulder,  and  turning 
he  found  himself  confronted  by  Paul  Halliday. 

"Say,  see  here,  Rover!  I'd  like  a  word  with 
you,"  whispered  Halliday  somewhat  excitedly. 

"All  right,  shoot!"  answered  the  young  cap- 
tain. 

"This  is  a  little  private  matter,"  went  on  Halli- 
day. "You  can  bring  your  cousins  along  if  you 
want  to,"  he  added. 

Wondering  what  Halliday  had  in  his  mind, 
Jack,  along  with  Fred  and  Andy  who  happened 
to  be  close  by,  followed  him  to  an  out-of-the-way 
corner  of  a  corridor. 

"We  want  to  know  if  you're  willing  to  make 


THE  ELECTION  FOR  OFFICERS  117 

a  deal  with  us,"  said  Halliday  in  a  low,  nervous 
tone  of  voice.  "You  know  Harkness  got  twenty- 
four  votes.  Well,  he's  willing  to  throw  those 
votes  to  you  if  you  are  willing  to  back  him  for 
the  new  captain  of  Company  C." 

"I  can't  do  that,"  answered  Jack  quickly.  "If 
I  get  to  be  major  I'm  going  to  back  Fred  here 
for  the  captaincy." 

"Oh,  but,  Jack,  I  could  drop  out  of  that !"  put 
in  his  cousin  quickly. 

"Not  much,  Fred!  I  said  I  was  going  to  do 
it,  and  I'm  going  to  stick  to  my  word.  Besides 
that,  I  might  as  well  tell  you,  Halliday,  that  * 
don't  believe  Harkness  is  the  best  fellow  for  the 
position." 

"Then  you  won't  consider  my  offer?"  de- 
manded Halliday  sourly. 

"Certainly  not !" 

"I  don't  believe  you  can  control  the  Harkness 
votes,"  put  in  Andy.  "I  believe  Jack  will  get  a 
whole  lot  of  them  on  the  next  ballot." 

"He  won't  get  a  one  of  them,  and  he'll  lose 
some  of  his  own!"  answered  Paul  Halliday. 
"You  just  wait  and  see!"  And  then  he  walked 
away. 

"Jack,  that  move  might  have  given  you  the 
majorship,"  said  Fred. 

"If  I've  got  to  get  it  that  way,  Fred,  I  don't 


want  it,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  "I  wouldn't 
vote  for  Harkness  under  any  circumstances.  He's 
in  hand  and  glove  with  Brassy  Bangs,  Halliday, 
Sands,  and  that  whole  bunch;  and  I  don't  believe 
he  ought  to  be  an  officer." 

A  few  minutes  later  came  a  commotion  near 
the  main  entrance  of  the  Hall.  A  cadet  named 
Gibson  who  was  doing  some  electioneering  for 
Glasby  had  knocked  Paul  Halliday  down,  and 
there  was  every  prospect  of  a  fight  when  the  two 
cadets  were  separated  by  a  number  of  friends. 

"He  offered  to  sell  the  Harkness  vote  if  our 
crowd  would  vote  later  on  the  way  he  wanted  us 
to !"  declared  Gibson.  "You  would  think  he  had 
half  the  vote  of  the  Hall  in  his  pocket,"  and  he 
glared  at  Halliday,  who  thereupon  lost  no  time  in 
sneaking  out  of  sight. 

The  report  that  Halliday,  Sands,  and  even 
Brassy  Bangs  were  trying  to  sell  the  Harkness 
vote  in  exchange  for  some  votes  for  a  captaincy 
soon  spread,  and  a  number  of  the  cadets  who  had 
voted  for  the  lieutenant  became  disgusted  and 
promptly  said  they  were  going  to  change.  A 
lively  discussion  followed,  in  the  midst  of  which 
the  bell  rang  for  the  second  ballot. 

"Gee,  Jack!  if  some  of  those  fellows  do  change 
their  votes  I  hope  they  come  to  you,"  murmured 
Gif. 


THE  ELECTION  FOR   OFFICERS  119 

"Well,  I  must  confess  I'm  hoping  that  myself," 
answered  the  young  captain,  with  a  smile. 
.-Once  more  the  boys  lined  up  and  deposited  their 
ballots.     Then  came  some  anxious  waiting,  and 
finally  Captain  Dale  announced  the  result: 

"Total  number  of  votes  cast 125 

Necessary  to  a  choice 63 

Jack  Rover  has 67 

Louis  Glasby  has 46 

Darrell  Harkness  has 9 

Peter  Floyd  has 3" 

"Hurrah!  Jack  wins!"  cried  Fred  enthusias- 
tically, and  was  the  first  person  to  grab  his  cousin 
by  the  hand  and  shake  it  warmly. 

"That's  great,  Jack!"  exclaimed  Gif,  slapping 
him  on  the  shoulder.  "Let  me  congratulate  you !" 

"It's  just  the  result  I  was  looking  for!"  burst 
in  Spouter,  his  face  wreathed  in  smiles. 

Of  course,  Louis  Glasby  was  much  disap- 
pointed, but  he  took  his  defeat  in  good  part  and 
came  up  bravely  to  shake  Jack  by  the  hand. 

"It  was  a  fair  and  square  contest,  Jack,"  he 
said.  "And  I  congratulate  you."  And  then 
turning  to  the  other  cadets  he  called  out :  "Three 
cheers  for  Major  Rover !"  They  were  given  with 
a  will;  and  then  Colonel  Colby,  Captain  Dale, 


120    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

and  many  of  the  older  persons  came  forward  to 
congratulate  the  newly-elected  head  of  the  school 
battalion. 

"Speech!  Speech!"  came  the  cry  from  the 
students.  "A  speech  from  the  new  major!"  and 
almost  before  he  was  aware  of  it  Jack  was  es- 
corted to  the  platform. 

"I  don't  know  what  to  say  to  you,"  he  said,  as 
he  faced  his  fellow-students.  "I  thank  you  very 
heartily  for  your  support  and  I  will  do  my  best 
to  deserve  it.  I  want  to  say  that  I  am  particu- 
larly pleased  at  the  nice  manner  in  which  Louis 
Glasby  has  taken  his  defeat.  He's  a  fine  fellow 
and  I  hope  I  shall  always  have  him  for  my 
friend."  And  following  these  words  there  was 
more  cheering. 

"Evidently  the  Harkness  combination  went  to 
pieces,"  remarked  Randy.  "He  poled  only  nine 
votes." 

"And  that  was  nine  too  many,"  murmured  his 
brother. 

Following  the  election  for  major,  Captain  Dale 
announced  that  they  would  next  vote  for  a  new 
captain  for  Company  A. 

"I  don't  know  what  you  fellows  are  going  to 
do,  but  I  know  I'm  going  to  vote  for  Louis 
Glasby,"  announced  Jack. 

"I  think  a  whole  lot  of  fellows  will  do  that," 


THE   ELECTION  FOR   OFFICERS  121 

answered  Fred.  "He'll  probably  get  every  one 
of  his  original  fifty-one  votes." 

Again  there  was  an  intermission  of  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  and  then  the  boys  were  lined  up  for 
the  vote  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  Company  A.  On 
the  first  ballot  Glasby  got  60  votes  while  Fred 
poled  1 8  votes,  the  rest  being  scattering.  Then 
on  the  second  ballot  Glasby  was  declared  elected 
with  69  votes  in  his  favor. 

"Three  cheers  for  Captain  Glasby  of  Company 
A!"  called  out  Jack  quickly,  as  he  shook  hands 
with  his  late  rival,  and  the  cheers  were  given  with 
as  much  of  a  will  as  they  had  been  for  the  newly- 
elected  major. 

"Well,  I  got  thirty-two  votes  on  that  last  bal- 
lot," announced  Fred.  "That  shows  I've  got  some 
friends  in  this  school.  I  don't  want  to  be  the 
captain  of  Company  A.  I'd  rather  remain  a  lieu- 
tenant of  Company  C." 

"But  we've  got  to  have  a  new  captain  for  Com- 
pany  C  now  that  Jack  has  stepped  out,"  put  in 
Phil  Franklin. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  the  balloting  began 
for  a  new  captain  for  the  company  Jack  had 
commanded.  Here  developed  a  spirited  rivalry, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  fifth  ballot  that  the  final 
vote  was  taken.  Then  Fred  won  by  64  votes  with 
the  other  votes  scattered  among  eight  contestants. 


122 

"Three  cheers  for  Captain  Fred  Rover  f" 
shouted  Phil  Franklin  enthusiastically,  and  threw 
his  cap  high  in  the  air.  He  had  electioneered  as 
hard  as  anybody  for  the  youngest  Rover. 

Then  Fred  was  called  on  for  a  little  speech,  and 
after  that  there  was  another  election  for  lieuten- 
ants and  a  number  of  minor  officers. 

"It  certainly  was  our  day,  Fred,"  said  Jack,  as 
he  and  his  cousin  shook  hands. 

"Right  you  are,  Major  Rover,"  and  Fred  sa- 
luted in  the  most  precise  military  fashion. 

"Bonfires  to-night,  boys!"  sang  out  Andy. 
"And  we'll  have  some  big  doings,  believe  mel" 

"Right  you  are!"  declared  his  twin. 


CHAPTER  XII 

BONFIRE   NIGHT 

IT  WAS  the  custom  at  Colby  Hall  for  the  offi- 
cers of  the  battalion  to  take  dinner  with  Colonel 
Colby  on  the  day  of  an  election.  This  was  quite 
&  formal  affair  and  the  cadets  to  participate  made 
it  a  point  to  look  their  best. 

**Say,  Jack,  you're  going  to  make  a  stunning 
looking  major,"  remarked  Fred,  as  he  watched  his 
cousin  dressing. 

"How  about  yourself  as  captain?"  was  the 
reply. 

"Just  wait  till  Ruth  Stevenson  sees  Jack  in  his 
new  uniform!"  cried  Randy. 

"Say,  Jack,  why  not  have  a  life-sized  photo 
taken  and  give  it  to  her  to  hang  over  her  dress- 
ing table?"  put  in  Andy,  with  a  grin. 

"You  beware,  Andy,"  admonished  his  cousin, 
waving  a  finger  severely  at  him.  "Remember,  as 
the  commandant  of  the  battalion,  I  can  throw  you 
into  a  dungeon  cell  if  I  feel  so  inclined,"  and 

123 


124    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

Jack  strutted  around  grandly  in  the  privacy  of  the 
Rovers'  sitting  room. 

"I'll  be  good,  oh,  Most  Noble  One,"  answered 
the  fun-loving  Rover,  bowing  down  until  his  head 
almost  touched  his  feet. 

Jack  and  Fred  had  already  sent  word  to  Martha 
and  Mary,  and  they,  of  course,  had  told  Ruth 
and  the  others.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the 
Rover  girls  and  their  chums  were  almost  as  much 
pleased  over  the  results  of  the  election  as  the  boys 
had  been. 

"I'm  just  dying  to  see  them  on  parade  with 
Jack  at  the  head,"  confided  Martha  to  the  others. 

"Yes,  and  Fred  in  command  of  Company  C," 
added  Mary.  "Just  to  think  of  it!  And  he  so 
much  younger  than  the  others!" 

"I  hope  I'm  on  hand  to  see  their  first  parade," 
said  Ruth,  her  eyes  beaming  with  pleasure. 

"I  thought  you  were  going  to  write  Jack  a  let- 
ter about  that  party,"  said  Martha  in  a  low  tone. 

"I  am.  To-night.  And  I'll  let  him  know  that 
I've  wanted  to  do  it  ever  since  the  party  was 
talked  of,"  went  on  Ruth. 

The  officers'  dinner  was  a  great  success.  Every 
one  present  made  a  little  speech  and  Colonel  Colby 
and  Captain  Dale  made  addresses  to  which  the 
cadets  listened  with  keen  attention. 

"It  is  my  4esire  to  make  this  military  academy 


BONFIRE   NIGHT  125 

one  of  the  best  in  the  country,"  declared  the 
colonel  earnestly.  "And  I  cannot  do  that  without 
the  sincere  cooperation  of  every  cadet  attending 
the  institution.  As  many  of  you  know" — and 
here  he  glanced  at  Jack  and  Fred — "when  I  was 
about  your  age  I  attended  Putnam  Hall  Military 
Academy.  I  am  sure  the  training  I  received  there 
did  me  much  good,  and  I  am  also  sure  that  I 
made  many  friends  who  will  stand  by  me  as  long 
as  I  live. 

"I  want  this  institution  to  be  one  of  good-fel- 
lowship all  around,  and  I  am  relying  upon  all  of 
you  to  do  your  best.  At  Putnam  Hall  in  many 
respects  we  followed  the  honor  system  which  I 
have  put  into  operation  here.  That  honor  system 
did  not  fail  there,  and  I  do  not  look  for  it  to  fail 
here.  I  want  you  all  to  have  a  good  time;  but 
there  is  a  limit,  and  every  one  of  you  knows  what 
that  limit  is  just  as  well  as  I  do.  In  the  late  war 
the  training  which  some  of  our  soldiers  had  re- 
ceived at  Putnam  Hall  stood  them  in  good  stead. 
And  I  want  the  training  received  here  to  be  of 
equal  benefit  if  any  of  my  cadets  should  ever  be 
called  upon  to  fight  for  our  country." 

"Three  cheers  for  Colonel  Colby!"  came  from 
Jack  a  minute  later,  and  the  boys  assembled 
nearly  split  their  throats  trying  to  do  justice  to 
their  feelings. 


126    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

While  this  dinner  was  going  on  the  other  ca- 
dets had  their  repast  in  the  mess  hall  and  then 
flew  off  in  all  directions  to  prepare  for  the  real 
festivities  of  the  evening.  They  had  gotten  to- 
gether several  piles  of  barrels  and  boxes,  as  well 
as  brushwood  from  the  forest  behind  the  school, 
and  these  were  soon  heaped  up  along  the  river 
bank  into  great  bonfires,  the  light  of  which  could 
be  seen  a  long  distance. 

"It's  going  to  be  some  night,  believe  me !"  sang 
out  Andy  merrily.  "We'll  tear  the  woodpile 
down,  as  the  old  saying  is." 

"We  want  to  be  a  little  bit  careful  or  else  we'll 
have  Snopper  Duke  or  some  other  professor  call- 
ing us  down." 

"Snopper  Duke  is  going  away.  I  heard  him 
tell  one  of  the  other  teachers  that  he  had  had  a 
sudden  call  to  go  somewhere  out  of  town,"  an- 
swered Randy. 

"Going  away  again,  eh?"  questioned  Gif,  in 
surprise.  "He  certainly  is  getting  to  be  a  regular 
Man  of  Mystery." 

The  greater  part  of  the  cadets  were  wildly  ex- 
cited over  the  prospects  of  a  good  time  that  night. 
A  few  of  them,  however,  including  Lieutenant 
Harkness,  Paul  Halliday,  and  Brassy  Bangs, 
looked  far  from  pleased. 

"They  make  me  tired,"  was  Brassy's  comment 


BONFIRE   NIGHT  127 

"You'd  think  that  being  major  of  the  school  bat- 
talion was  next  to  being  president." 

"If  I  can't  be  anything  better  than  a  lieutenant 
I  think  I'll  resign  altogether,"  returned  Harkness. 
"I'd  rather  go  in  for  atheltics." 

"You'll  have  a  pretty  good  chance  if  you  do," 
announced  Paul  Halliday.  "I  understand  they're 
going  to  try  to  divorce  the  officers  from  partici- 
pating in  baseball  and  football  as  much  as  pos- 
sible. A  fellow  can  hold  a  commission  and  be  on 
a  team  at  the  same  time  only  when  it  seems  abso- 
lutely necessary." 

"Then  Jack  Rover  and  Fred  Rover  will  have 
to  give  up  playing  baseball,"  put  in  Brassy  quickly. 

"More  than  likely.  Although,  of  course,  they'll 
hate  to  lose  such  good  players  as  they  are,"  put 
in  another  cadet  who  was  present. 

When  the  officers'  dinner  was  at  an  end  Jack 
and  Fred  lost  no  time  in  hurrying  to  their  rooms, 
where  they  donned  their  old  uniforms.  It  was 
what  was  termed  a  "holiday  night"  at  the  Hall, 
which  meant  that  for  the  time  being  the  cadets 
were  all  on  an  even  footing  and  must  treat  each 
other  as  if  such  a  thing  as  an  officer  was  un- 
known. 

By  the  time  Jack  and  Fred  joined  the  crowd 
along  the  river  bank  the  fun  was  at  its  height. 
Many  of  the  cadets  were  running  around  indulg- 


128    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

ing  in  all  sorts  of  horseplay  while  others  were 
dancing  around  the  bonfires  singing  the  songs 
they  had  learned  in  the  school  and  while  at  the 
encampments.  Several  of  the  boys,  including 
Andy,  were  in  clowns'  costume  with  big  slap- 
sticks which  they  used  vigorously  on  everybody 
who  came  within  their  reach. 

"Hurrah,  boys,  let  her  flicker!"  cried  Fred,  as 
he  rushed  forward.  "Everybody  join  in!"  he 
added,  and  then  boomed  out  with  this  well-known 
Hall  refrain: 

"Who  are  we? 
Can't  you  see? 
Colby  Hall! 

Dum !    Dum !    Dum,  dum,  dum ! 
Here  we  come  with  fife  and  drum ! 
Colby!    Colby!    Colby  Hall!" 

"That's  the  stuff !"  cried  Jack.  "Let's  have  it 
again !"  And  then  the  refrain  boomed  out  louder 
than  ever. 

"Come  on!  Let's  march  around  the  school," 
came  from  Gif,  and  he  caught  up  a  firebrand  as 
he  spoke. 

A  number  of  others  were  quick  to  follow  his 
example,  and  in  a  minute  more  a  torchlight  pro- 
cession was  in  progress,  winding  along  over  the 
campus,  around  the  school,  and  through  the  edge 


BONFIRE   NIGHT 


129 


of  the  woods  beyond.  Then  the  boys  came  back 
by  way  of  the  barns  and  sheds  in  the  rear. 

"Look  out  that  you  don't  set  something  on 
fire,"  warned  Jack. 

"Something  is  on  fire  already!"  burst  out 
Andy  suddenly. 

"You  don't  say!"  queried  Spouter. 

"Where  is  the  fire?"  demanded  half  a  dozen 
others,  looking  around  anxiously. 

"Right  down  there,"  declared  the  fun-loving 
Rover,  and  pointed  to  the  bonfires  along  the  river. 

"Wow !  Let's  duck  him  for  that !"  cried  Phil 
Franklin. 

He  made  a  dive  for  Andy  and  so  did  several 
others,  but  the  agile  Rover  was  too  quick  for 
them  and  danced  out  of  their  reach,  having  no 
desire  to  take  an  involuntary  bath  in  the  river, 
which  at  that  time  of  the  year  was  very  cold. 

In  the  past  the  cadets  had  had  considerable 
fun  with  Job  Plunger,  the  school  janitor,  who  was 
quite  deaf  and  who  was  often  called  Shout  be- 
cause everybody  had  to  shout  at  him  to  make  him 
hear.  But  this  time  Plunger  was  wise  and  kept 
out  of  sight,  as  did  also  Pud  Hicks,  his  assistant, 
and  Bob  Nixon,  the  chauffeur.  The  only  person 
the  boys  could  get  hold  of  was  Si  Crews,  the  gym- 
nastic instructor. 

"Give  us  a  song,  won't  you?"  asked  several  of 


130    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

the  boys  at  once,  for  Si  Crews  was  known  to  be 
quite  a  singer. 

"I  will  if  Lowe  will  play  the  mandolin  or  the 
banjo,"  answered  Crews. 

"That's  the  stuff,  Ned!"  called  Fred.  "Go  on 
and  get  your  mandolin." 

Ned  Lowe,  who  was  also  a  good  singer,  was 
willing,  and  at  once  ran  off  into  the  school  to  get 
the  musical  instrument  mentioned.  When  he 
came  out  he  tuned  up  hastily  and  then  played 
while  Si  Crews  sang  one  or  two  old-time  songs. 
Then  Ned  gave  the  crowd  one  or  two  funny  songs 
and  a  dozen  or  more  of  the  cadets  joined  in  the 
chorus. 

"Here's  a  chance  to  get  square  with  Codfish !" 
cried  Fred,  as  the  sneak  of  the  school  showed  him- 
self in  the  crowd. 

"Oh,  we  might  as  well  let  Codfish  drop,"  an- 
swered Jack. 

But  before  this  could  be  done  Andy  and  Randy 
caught  hold  of  Stowell  and  pushed  him  forward 
through  the  circle  of  merry  cadets  around  one  of 
the  fires. 

"We're  going  to  initiate  you  in  the  Ancient 
Order  of  Cornmeal,"  declared  Andy. 

"I  don't  want  to  be  initiated,"  answered  Cod- 
fish. "You  let  me  alone !" 

"Oh,  but  this  is  a  first-class  Order,  Codfish," 


THERE  DESCENDED  UPON  CODFISH  SEVERAL  POUNDS  OF 

FINELY  GROUND  CORNMEAL. 
The  Raver  Boys  at  Big  Horn  Ranch.  PaZe  131 


BONFIRE   NIGHT  131 

returned  Randy.  "If  your  reputation  is  bad  it 
will  render  you  almost  spotless." 

"You  let  me  go!"  burst  out  Codfish  in  sudden 
fear,  as  Andy  and  Randy  and  several  others  came 
close  to  him.  "I  don't  want  any  horseplay  to- 
night. I'm  tired  out." 

"To  be  initiated  in  this  Order  you've  got  to 
lie  down,"  continued  Andy,  and,  motioning  to 
his  brother  and  some  of  the  others,  they  sud- 
denly caught  poor  Codfish  and  stretched  him  out 
on  the  grass  in  front  of  the  fire. 

"Are  you  ready  to  be  initiated?"  questioned 
Randy  solemnly,  as  he  stood  over  Codfish  with  a 
small  paper  bag  in  one  hand. 

"You  let  me "  began  Codfish. 

"He  says  'let  me !' "  burst  out  Randy  quickly. 
"So  go  to  it,  Most  Potent  Sower  of  the  Ancient 
and  Honorable  Order  of  Cornmeal!  Go  to  it,  I 
say!" 

And  thereupon  without  further  ado  Randy 
overturned  the  paper  bag  he  held  in  his  hand  and 
there  descended  upon  Codfish  several  pounds  of 
finely-ground  meal  which  the  lads  had  purchased 
in  town  a  day  or  two  before. 

"Hi!  Hi!  What's  this?  You  let  me  go!" 
cried  Codfish,  and  then  began  to  splutter  as  the 
dry  cornmeal  got  into  his  mouth  and  nose. 

"My,  Codfish,  you'd  make  a  regular  muffin 


1 32    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

now,"  declared  Andy,  as  the  whitened  youth 
struggled  to  his  feet. 

"Give  us  a  song,  Codfish." 

"Make  it  a  regular  corncake  hoedown,"  put  in 
Randy. 

"You  let  me  go!"  shrieked  Codfish,  and  then 
in  commingled  rage  and  fear  he  suddenly  caught 
up  a  long  firebrand  from  the  bonfire  and  whirled 
it  around  rapidly  before  him. 

"Get  out  of  my  way — all  of  you !"  he  screamed, 
and  the  next  minute  made  a  movement  as  if  to 
dash  the  firebrand  directly  into  Randy's  face. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

A    STARTLING   DISCOVERY 

"DROP  that,  Codfish!"  exclaimed  Randy,  and 
backed  away  so  suddenly  that  he  tripped  over  some 
brushwood  and  came  down  flat  on  his  back. 

"I'm  not  going  to  be  tormented  any  more," 
stormed  Codfish,  and  swung  the  firebrand  around 
again,  this  time  so  the  flames  brushed  Andy's 
shoulder  and  also  Fred's  arm. 

"Drop  that,  you  imp!"  exclaimed  Ned  Lowe. 
"Do  you  want  to  put  out  somebody's  eyes?" 

"I  don't  care!  You've  got  to  let  me  alone!" 
screamed  Codfish. 

"We  won't  let  you  alone  until  you  learn  how 
to  behave  yourself  and  act  like  the  other  fellows 
do,"  answered  Andy.  "You're  the  worst  sneak 
this  school  ever  had,  and  you  know  it!" 

"Yes,  and  see  how  you  acted  after  all  we  did 
for  you  when  we  were  at  Cedar  Lodge,"  added 
Randy,  who  had  scrambled  to  his  feet. 

"I — I  didn't  mean  to  say  anything  about  those 
snowballs,"  whined  Stowell.  "They  made  me  do 

133 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 


it!"  And  thereupon,  pitching  the  firebrand  back 
on  the  bonfire,  he  pushed  his  way  through  the 
crowd  of  cadets  and  disappeared  in  the  darkness 
in  the  direction  of  the  school. 

"Gee,  he  certainly  is  a  pill!"  was  Dan  Sop- 
pinger's  comment.  "I  think  none  of  us  would 
weep  if  Codfish  left  the  school  for  good.  How 
about  it?" 

"Never  mind  —  don't  let  it  spoil  the  festivities," 
cried  Andy  gayly.  "Come  on!  Everybody  join 
in!  A  fine  of  one  suspender  button  for  the  fel- 
lows who  don't  sing!"  And  thereupon  he  began 
a  ditty  he  had  composed  during  the  war. 

"Johnny  get  your  musket  ! 
You  must  get  your  musket  ! 
Johnny  get  your  musket  ! 
You  must  get  it  now  !" 

And  this  ditty  the  lads  sang  over  and  over 
again  as  they  leaped  and  swung  in  a  circle  around 
the  bonfires. 

But  all  gala  occasions  must  come  to  an  end,  and 
by  eleven  o'clock  the  bonfires  were  nothing  but 
heaps  of  smouldering  ashes,  and  then  one  by  one 
the  cadets  returned  to  the  Hall  and  retired. 

"Well,  Jack,  it  will  seem  kind  of  funny,  won't 
it,  to  be  at  the  head  of  the  school  battalion  to- 
morrow morning?"  questioned  Gif,  as  he  and  the 


A   STARTLING  DISCOVERY  135 

newly-elected  major  turned  into  the  corridor  lead- 
ing to  their  rooms. 

"Yes,  Gif.  But  it  won't  be  so  very  strange 
either,  because  you  know  I  had  to  command  the 
battalion  two  or  three  times  when  the  other  offi- 
cers were  away." 

Their  activities  during  the  whole  of  the  day 
had  made  the  cadets  sleepy,  and  nearly  all  turned 
in  without  much  ado.  Here  and  there  there  was 
an  exception,  and  these  included  Fatty  Hendry 
and  Dan  Soppinger. 

"I've  got  to  get  out  some  sort  of  a  composition 
on  City  Improvements,"  declared  Fatty.  "I  don't 
know  much  about  'em,  but  if  I  don't  get  the 
paper  in  by  nine  o'clock  to-morrow  morning 
there's  going  to  be  trouble." 

"And  I  still  have  some  examples  in  algebra  to 
work  out,"  answered  Dan.  "So  I  think  I'll  go  at 
them  before  I  retire." 

All  of  the  Rovers  slept  soundly  and  did  not 
awaken  until  they  heard  an  unexpected  knock  on 
their  door  some  time  before  the  rising  bell. 

"Let  me  in,"  came  in  the  voice  of  Dan  Sop- 
pinger. "I've  got  news." 

Jack  opened  the  door  and  Dan  came  in,  followed 
by  Fatty. 

"Say,  what  do  you  know  about  this !"  exclaimed 
Dan.  "Colby  Hall  has  been  robbed!" 


136    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Robbed!"  ejaculated  Jack.  "What  do  you 
mean  ?  What  did  they  take  ?" 

"What  did  they  take!"  burst  out  Fatty.  "I 
guess  they  took  about  everything  they  could  get 
their  hands  on  that  was  easy  to  carry  off.  I  lost 
my  stickpin  and  my  watch." 

"And  I  lost  two  old  stickpins  and  two  rings 
that  I  haven't  been  wearing,"  put  in  Dan. 

"When  did  you  find  this  out?"  questioned  the 
newly-elated  major. 

"I  made  the  discovery  just  when  I  was  going 
to  bed  after  doing  some  examples  in  algebra,"  an- 
swered Dan.  "It  was  about  half-past  twelve,  so 
I  didn't  want  to  wake  anybody  up — that  is,  none 
of  the  other  fellows,  although  I  did  call  on  Fatty 
because  I  knew  he  was  writing  a  composition. 
He  looked  around  his  room  then  and  found  he 
had  been  robbed,  too.  Then,  as  Professor  Duke 
was  away,  we  called  on  Professor  Watson.  He 
made  an  investigation  and  then  said  he  would  re- 
port to  Colonel  Colby  the  first  thing  this  morn- 
ing." 

The  talk  in  Jack's  room  had  brought  Fred  to 
the  scene,  and  a  few  minutes  later  Randy  and 
Andy  came  in,  rubbing  their  eyes  sleepily. 

"What  was  your  stuff  worth,  Dan?"  questioned 
Fred. 

"I  think  the  rings  were  worth  about   fifteen 


A   STARTLING  DISCOVERY  137 

dollars  each,  and  the  stickpins  almost  as  much." 

"My  stickpin  was  worth  thirty-five  dollars," 
groaned  Fatty.  "And  the  watch  was  a  gold  one 
given  to  me  by  my  grandfather,  and  I  wouldn't 
lose  that  for  a  good  deal." 

"Hark !  What's  that  commotion  ?"  put  in  Jack 
suddenly. 

There  was  a  murmur  of  excited  voices  in  the 
corridor,  and,  throwing  open  the  door,  the  Rovers 
and  their  friends  came  out  to  see  what  was  up. 

"My  room  has  been  robbed !" 

"My  watch  is  gone  and  a  whole  lot  of  other 
jewelry!" 

"I  lost  three  dollars!" 

"Huh,  that  isn't  anything!  I  lost  fourteen 
dollars  and  a  half !" 

So  the  talk  ran  on  as  an  excited  group  of 
cadets,  some  fully  attired  and  some  still  wearing 
their  pajamas,  crowded  forward. 

"Say,  what  do  you  know  about  this !"  exclaimed 
Fred. 

"Is  anything  belonging  to  us  gone  ?"  questioned 
Jack  suddenly. 

"I'm  going  back  to  find  out,"  came  from 
Randy.  "I  was  so  sleepy  last  night  that  I  just 
tumbled  into  bed  and  let  it  go  at  that." 

Without  further  ado  the  four  Rovers  ran  back 
into  the  rooms  they  occupied  and  began  a  search 


140    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Shall  we  notify  the  Haven  Point  authorities  ?" 
questioned  Professor  Brice. 

"Not  at  present.  I  wish  to  make  my  own  in- 
vestigation first,"  answered  the  head  of  the  school. 

It  did  not  take  Jack  and  his  cousins  long  to 
swallow  their  breakfast,  and  this  finished,  they 
hurried  back  to  their  rooms  and  began  the  search 
Colonel  Colby  had  advised. 

"Well,  I'm  shy  that  gold  fountain  pen  Aunt 
Martha  gave  me,"  announced  Jack  presently.  "I'd 
forgotten  about  that  because  I  didn't  usually  use 
it.  I  use  the  one  mother  gave  me." 

Outside  of  this  the  Rovers  could  find  nothing 
more  missing  nor  did  they  locate  anything  in  the 
way  of  a  clue  that  might  lead  to  the  robber.  They 
sat  down  and  made  out  their  brief  lists,  signed 
them,  and  then  walked  together  down  to  the 
office. 

Here  a  crowd  of  cadets  were  coming  and  going. 
It  was  learned  that  twenty-two  cadets  in  all  had 
suffered  losses  which  ranged  from  seventy-five 
cents  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars.  In 
all  it  was  figured  that  the  loss  would  amount  to 
at  least  twelve  hundred  dollars. 

"This  is  about  the  worst  thing  that  ever  struck 
Colby  Hall,"  announced  Jack. 

"Who  do  you  suppose  did  it?"  questioned 
Randy. 


A  STARTLING  DISCOVERY  141 

"Don't  ask  me,  Randy.  I'd  hate  to  suspect  any 
of  the  fellows." 

"Oh,  I  don't  think  any  of  the  fellows  did  it !" 
burst  out  Fred. 

"Well,  what  about  the  hired  help?"  questioned 
Andy. 

"I  don't  know  any  of  them  that  I'd  suspect," 
said  Jack  promptly.  "Every  one  looks  like  a 
pretty  good  sort." 

Only  two  cadets  came  forward  with  objects 
that  might  possibly  be  a  clue  to  the  robbery.  One 
boy  had  picked  up  a  handkerchief  in  his  room 
that  he  said  did  not  belong  to  him,  and  another 
boy  had  found  the  marks  of  muddy  footprints 
over  his  window  sill  and  on  a  fire-escape  outside. 

"Say,  that  looks  as  if  somebody  had  come  up 
the  fire-escape  and  got  into  the  rooms  that  way," 
said  Jack,  when  he  heard  of  this. 

"They  say  the  handkerchief  that  was  picked  up 
is  not  marked  in  any  way,"  said  Gif. 

"Well,  every  handkerchief  used  by  the  cadets 
>s  marked,"  returned  Spouter.  "They've  got  to 
be  that  way  or  they'd  get  all  mixed  up  in  the 
laundry." 

"How  about  the  help?" 

"Their  stuff  is  all  marked,  too.  One  of  the 
teachers  told  me  so,"  put  in  Dan  Soppinger. 

"Say,  Ned !  you  came  upstairs  for  your  mando- 


138    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

of  their  chiffoniers  and  the  other  places  where 
they  kept  their  things  of  value. 

"My  stickpin  is  gone  and  also  one  of  my  rings/' 
groaned  Randy. 

"I  had  a  brand  new  five-dollar  bill  tucked  away 
in  one  of  my  drawers,"  said  his  brother.  "I 
can't  find  it  anywhere.  And,  yes,  my  wrist-watch 
is  missing!" 

"My  watch  and  chain  and  stickpin  are  gone, 
and  likewise  all  my  badges!"  cried  Fred.  "Ohr 
this  is  the  worst  ever !" 

"Well,  I'm  out  a  ring  and  three  stickpins,"  an- 
nounced Jack,  "including  that  brand  new  pin  I 
got  last  year." 

As  quickly  as  possible  the  four  Rovers  dressed 
and  then  joined  the  other  cadets  in  the  corridor. 
From  all  sides  were  heard  excited  exclamations 
as  one  pupil  after  another  came  forward  to  an- 
nounce that  either  his  jewelry  or  his  money — and 
sometimes  both — were  gone. 

Colonel  Colby  and  several  of  the  professors  had 
already  been  notified,  and  they  quickly  appeared 
on  the  scene  and  tried  to  interview  the  cadets. 
This,  however,  was  a  hard  thing  to  undertake  be- 
cause nearly  all  the  boys  wanted  to  talk  at  once. 
There  was  so  much  excitement  that  for  the  time 
being  the  morning  parade  and  breakfast  were 
completely  forgotten. 


A   STARTLING  DISCOVERY  139 

"This  is  certainly  a  terrible  state  of  affairs," 
remarked  the  colonel  to  Captain  Dale.  "Have 
you  any  idea  who  can  be  guilty?" 

"No,  Colonel.  I  have  always  thought  that 
every  one  connected  with  this  school  was  honest." 

"It  may  be  the  work  of  some  of  the  hired  help," 
mused  Colonel  Colby.  "But  I  hate  to  think  that. 
Every  one  who  is  here  came  highly  recom- 
mended." 

"We  might  make  inquiry  and  see  if  any 
strangers  were  in  the  school  last  night  during  the 
celebration,"  suggested  Captain  Dale  "There 
was  so  much  excitement  that  some  one  might  have 
slipped  in  and  out  without  our  noticing." 

Finally  Colonel  Colby  told  all  the  cadets  to  go 
below  for  breakfast,  dispensing  with  the  early 
morning  drill. 

"As  soon  as  you  have  finished  eating  I  wish 
each  cadet  to  make  a  thorough  search  of  his  room 
and  make  out  a  written  list  of  everything  that  is 
missing  and  sign  the  paper.  Take  careful  note 
of  everything  when  you  are  making  your  search, 
and  if  you  find  any  clues  to  the  perpetrator  of 
this  outrageous  affair,  let  me  know.  The  lists  can 
be  left  at  the  office  as  soon  as  they  are  made  out." 
And  then,  after  a  moment  of  thought,  he  added : 
"There  will  be  no  session  of  the  school  this  morn- 
ing." 


142    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

lin,"  cried  Jack  suddenly.  "Did  you  see  anybody 
up  here?" 

"I  don't  remember  that  I  did,"  answered  Ned 
Lowe.  "I  was  in  such  a  hurry  to  get  the  instru- 
ment that  I  didn't  pay  much  attention.  And,  be- 
sides that,  it  seemed  pretty  dark  in  here  after 
coming  away  from  that  big  bonfire." 

"A  robber  would  be  sure  to  keep  out  of  Ned's 
sight,"  put  in  Fred. 

"I  remember  seeing  some  fellows  in  the  lower 
hall — Major  Mason,  Bart  White,  and  one  or  two 
others.  But  I  can't  seem  to  remember  seeing  any- 
body upstairs — and  yet,  somehow  or  other,  it 
seems  to  me  I  did  pass  somebody  just  before  I  ran 
into  my  room,"  and  now  Ned  looked  perplexed. 

"Can't  you  think  who  it  was  ?"  questioned  Andy 
quickly. 

"No,  I  can't." 

"If  it  was  a  stranger  you  would  have  remem- 
bered, wouldn't  you?"  asked  Jack. 

"I  think  I  would,  Jack.  I'd  think  right  away 
what  that  person  was  doing  upstairs."  Ned 
scratched  his  head.  "No,  if  I  did  meet  somebody, 
I'm  sure  it  must  have  been  one  of  the  cadets. 
But  who  it  was,  I  can't  think." 

A  little  later  Colonel  Colby  continued  his  in- 
vestigation by  asking  all  those  who  had  been  in- 
side the  building  during  the  celebration  to  come 


A   STARTLING  DISCOVERY  143 

fonvard  and  tell  anything  they  could  that  might 
be  of  advantage.  It  developed  that  not  only  Ned 
but  also  Ralph  Mason,  Bart  White  and  two  of 
the  older  cadets  named  Lawrence  and  Philips  had 
been  upstairs  some  time  between  eight  and  eleven 
o'clock.  The  most  of  these  cadets  said  they  had 
seen  no  one  else  upstairs  in  the  building.  But 
Bart  White  declared  while  at  one  end  of  a  long 
corridor  he  had  seen  some  one  slip  around  a 
corner  out  of  sight.  He  was  not  sure  whether 
the  person  had  been  a  cadet,  one  of  the  hired 
help,  or  an  outsider. 

"It  was  either  a  man  or  a  big  boy,"  said  Bart. 
"But  he  moved  so  quickly  and  it  was  so  dark  I 
didn't  recognize  him,  even  if  I  happened  to  know 
him." 

"And  what  time  was  this?"  questioned  Colonel 
Colby. 

"Some  time  between  half-past  nine  and  ten 
o'clock." 

Bart  was  asked  to  show  the  colonel  where  the 
disappearance  of  the  stranger  had  taken  place, 
and  it  was  proved  that  this  was  at  a  point  just 
around  a  corner  from  the  room  where  the  foot- 
prints leading  to  the  fire-escape  had  been  dis- 
covered. 

"Perhaps  you  saw  the  person  just  at  the  time 
he  was  making  his  escape,"  was  Colonel  Colby's 


144    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

comment.  "We  will  look  for  footprints  below 
the  fire-escape." 

This  was  done,  but  the  cadets  the  night  before 
had  tramped  around  the  school  building  so  much 
that  the  footprints  were  hopelessly  mixed.  Then 
the  boys  were  questioned  as  to  whether  or  not 
they  had  seen  any  one  dropping  from  the  fire- 
escape  to  the  ground,  and  all  answered  in  the 
negative. 

"We  will  question  the  hired  help  and  see  what 
they  have  to  say,"  announced  the  master  of  the 
school. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE   PARADE 

THE  inquiries  made  among  the  hired  help  o£ 
Colby  Hall  produced  little  results.  Some  of  the 
servants  were  rather  scared  and  declared  to  Colo- 
nel Colby  that  they  were  innocent  of  any  wrong 
doing. 

"I  am  not  accusing  any  one  here,"  declared 
the  master  of  the  Hall.  "I  only  want  to  find  out, 
if  possible,  who  was  guilty  of  this  outrageous  pro- 
ceeding." 

It  was  found  that  two  men  with  wagon  loads 
of  supplies  for  the  school  had  visited  the  place 
during  the  evening,  but  neither  of  these  men  had 
gone  any  further  into  the  building  than  the  store- 
room, and  both  had  departed  as  soon  as  their  er- 
rands were  finished.  Outside  of  that,  so  far  as 
the  servants  could  remember,  no  outsiders  had 
been  on  the  premises. 

"And  yet  those  footmarks  on  the  window  sill 
and  the  fire-escape  look  as  if  it  had  been  done  by 

145 


146    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

an  outsider,"  said  Captain  Dale  to  the  head  of  the 
school. 

"It's  just  possible  that  it  may  have  been  an  in- 
side job  and  an  outside  job  combined,"  ventured 
Professor  Grawson. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that?" 

"Somebody  in  the  institution  may  be  in  col- 
lusion with  some  outsider — some  professional 
thief.  The  inside  person  may  have  given  the  out- 
sider a  tip  as  to  when  the  coast  was  clear  and 
may  even  have  stood  on  guard  while  the  rooms 
were  being  looted." 

"That  is  possible,  Professor.  But  is  there  any 
one  in  the  place  that  you  suspect  ?" 

At  this  Professor  Grawson  shook  his  head. 

"No,  sir.  So  far  as  I  can  imagine  they  are  all 
thoroughly  honest." 

"We  might  institute  a  general  search  of  all  the 
buildings,"  announced  Captain  Dale.  "We  can 
call  all  the  cadets  out  on  the  campus  and  all  the 
hired  help  into  the  mess  room  and  request  them  to 
remain  while  the  search  is  going  on." 

"Some  of  the  hired  help  may  object  to  that," 
came  from  Professor  Watson. 

"If  they  did  it  would  throw  suspicion  on  them," 
answered  Colonel  Colby  quickly.  "I  think  the  idea 
had  better  be  carried  out." 

All  the  persons  in  the  school  were  assembled 


THE    PARADE  147 

as  mentioned,  and  then  Captain  Dale  explained 
to  the  cadets  what  had  been  proposed  and  Colo- 
nel Colby  did  the  same  to  the  hired  help. 

"They're  certainly  welcome  to  search  our 
rooms,"  declared  Major  Jack  promptly. 

"And  mine,  too,"  added  a  score  of  others. 

'Tm  sure  I  haven't  anything  to  conceal,"  put 
in  Lieutenant  Harkness. 

"And  I  haven't  anything  to  conceal  either," 
came  from  Brassy  Bangs.  "They  can  search  my 
room  all  they  please."  He  had  announced  the  loss 
of  a  stickpin  and  six  dollars  and  a  quarter  in 
cash. 

Among  the  hired  help  there  was  more  or  less 
murmuring,  one  of  the  old  cooks,  an  Irish  woman 
who  had  been  in  the  place  since  it  had  been  opened, 
shaking  her  head  dubiously. 

"Sure  an'  I  didn't  think  yez  would  take  me  f  er 
a  thief,  Colonel  Colby,"  said  Bridget,  gazing  at 
the  head  of  the  school  severely. 

"I'm  not  taking  any  one  for  a  thief,  Mrs. 
Mulligan,"  he  answered.  "But  it  would  not  be 
fair  to  search  any  of  the  rooms  without  search- 
ing all  of  them." 

"Sure  an'  that's  true  fer  yez,"  announced  the 
cook,  nodding  her  head  in  assent.  "An'  if  that's 
the  way  ye're  after  lookin'  at  it,  go  ahead  and 
search  me  room  all  ye  please.  Only  don't  be 


148    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

disturbin'  them  trinkets  I  have  from  me  dead 
mother." 

The  search  was  made  without  delay,  all  of  the 
teachers  and  the  cadets  who  had  lost  their  be- 
longings taking  part.  It  occupied  the  rest  of  the 
morning.  Every  room  was  gone  over  carefully, 
and  when  anything  in  the  way  of  jewelry  or  other 
such  articles  as  had  been  reported  missing  were 
discovered  all  those  who  had  suffered  were  asked 
to  look  on  and  see  if  they  could  identify  any- 
thing. 

"Gee!  there's  a  fountain  pen  that  belongs  to 
me,"  cried  one  of  the  boys  presently.  And  then 
he  added  in  a  crestfallen  manner:  "It's  all  right. 
I  lent  that  to  Bill  Latimer  a  couple  of  weeks  ago 
and  forgot  all  about  it." 

Outside  of  this  incident  the  search  came  to  an 
end  with  nothing  out  of  the  ordinary  happening. 
Not  an  article  that  had  been  taken  was  discov- 
ered in  any  of  the  rooms  occupied  by  the  cadets 
or  the  hired  help.  Nor  was  anything  discovered 
in  any  of  the  other  rooms  or  closets  of  the  insti- 
tution. 

"It  certainly  is  puzzling,"  declared  Colonel 
Colby,  after  the  search  had  been  called  off.  "It 
looks  to  me  as  if  a  thief  had  gotten  away  with 
everything  he  took." 

"Either  that  or  he  has  some  hiding  place  which 


THE   PARADE  149 

we  as  yet  haven't  unearthed,"  answered  Captain 
Dale. 

After  that  the  hired  help  were  told  they  might 
go,  and  as  soon  as  possible  dinner  was  served  to 
the  cadets  and  the  teachers.  Then,  when  the 
pupils  were  told  to  go  to  their  afternoon  classes, 
Colonel  Colby  and  Captain  Dale  held  a  confer- 
ence in  the  office  and  notified  the  local  police 
authorities. 

"I  hate  to  do  it,"  said  Colonel  Colby.  "But 
there  seems  to  be  no  help  for  it.  It  will  certainly 
give  our  institution  a  black  eye." 

"But  I  do  not  see  how  anyone  can  hold  you 
responsible  for  this  affair,"  returned  Captain 
Dale.  "We  are  as  watchful  at  this  institution  as 
they  are  anywhere." 

"Of  course  I  shall  not  permit  our  cadets  to  lose 
anything  by  this,"  went  on  the  master  of  the  school 
quickly.  "I  shall  ask  each  of  them  to  value  care- 
fully what  they  have  lost,  and  then,  if  the  things 
are  not  recovered  before  the  end  of  the  term,  I 
will  make  the  loss  good." 

"That  would  be  very  nice  on  your  part,  Colonel 
Colby.  And  I  think  it  would  be  a  good  invest- 
ment, too,"  added  Captain  Dale.  "It  will  prove 
to  the  parents  of  the  cadets  that  you  consider 
yourself  responsible  while  they  are  under  your 
care." 


150    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

When  the  locai  authorities  came  to  the  school 
they  went  over  the  ground  carefully  with  Colo- 
nel Colby  and  some  of  the  others  and  asked  in- 
numerable questions. 

"We  have  a  number  of  strangers  stopping  in 
town,  mostly  traveling  salesmen,"  announced  the 
chief  of  police.  "I'll  look  'em  up,  and  also  look 
up  any  tramps  or  any  other  suspicious  characters 
that  may  be  hanging  around."  And  that  for  the 
time  being  was  all  he  could  say.  Soon  he  and 
his  men  departed. 

That  evening  Jack  found  a  letter  in  his  box 
which  had  been  mailed  early  that  morning  at 
Haven  Point.  It  was  from  Ruth.  There  was 
also  a  brief  note  to  Fred  which  had  been  sent  by 
May. 

In  her  communication  to  the  newly-elected 
major  Ruth  congratulated  him  heartily  on  his  suc- 
cess and  said  she  hoped  soon  to  see  him  in  a  pa- 
rade at  the  head  of  the  battalion.  After  that  she 
wrote  as  follows  about  the  sleighing  party  that 
had  been  called  off: 

"I  received  an  invitation  to  that  party  from 
Lester  Bangs  and  May  received  an  invitation  from 
Paul  Halliday.  Jennie  Mason,  Ida  Brierley  and 
several  of  the  other  girls  had  invitations  and  they 
wanted  us  to  go  very  much.  But,  of  course,  I 


THE    PARADE  151 

did  not  want  to  go  with  such  a  fellow  as  Bangs, 
Then  he  came  to  me  and  started  a  report  that  all 
of  you  Rovers  were  going  to  another  party  with 
some  of  the  girls  from  the  town,  and  that  the 
party  was  to  take  place  the  same  night  as  our 
party.  Of  course,  I  did  not  want  to  say  anything 
about  it,  because  I  realized  that  you  could  do  as 
you  pleased.  But  I  told  Bangs  positively  that  I 
would  not  go  with  him  and  May  told  the  same 
thing  to  Halliday.  Then  both  of  them  got  quite 
ugly  and  accused  you  and  your  cousin  of  trying 
to  spoil  his  outing.  I  told  him  you  had  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with  it,  but  he  declared  that  you  had 
and  that  you  had  better  look  out  or  you  would  get 
into  hot  water.  So,  Jack,  please  look  out  for  him 
and  tell  Fred  to  look  out  for  Halliday  and  the 
others." 

There  was  more  to  the  letter,  and  Jack  read  the 
communication  with  great  interest.  He  felt 
greatly  relieved  to  think  that  Ruth  had  not  in- 
tended to  accept  Brassy's  invitation,  and  later  on 
he  dropped  her  a  note  thanking  her  for  her  kind 
congratulations  and  telling  her  that  the  report  of 
another  party  in  which  the  Rovers  and  some  girls 
from  Haven  Point  were  to  participate  had  been 
faked  up. 

The  note  received  by  Fred  was  on  lines  similar 


1 52    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

to  the  communication  sent  to  Jack.  He  sent  word 
to  May  clearing  up  the  situation. 

"It  was  a  mean  thing  for  Bangs  and  Halliday 
to  do,"  declared  the  newly-elected  captain  of 
Company  C.  "We  ought  to  pitch  into  them." 

"We  can't  afford  to  do  it,  Fred,  now  that  I'm 
a  major  and  you're  a  captain,"  was  Jack's  reply. 
"Remember  what  Colonel  Colby  said :  We  must 
be  models  for  the  other  cadets." 

"Great  Scott !  does  that  mean  we  can't  stick  up 
for  our  rights?"  demanded  the  youngest  Rover 
indignantly. 

"Not  at  all,  Fred.  If  those  fellows  say  any- 
thing, give  it  back  to  them.  And  if  they  start  to 
fight,  defend  yourself  just  as  well  as  you  are 
able." 

As  mentioned  before,  Snopper  Duke  had  been 
absent  from  the  Hall  during  the  election  for  offi- 
cers and  the  celebration  which  had  followed. 
When  he  returned  he  looked  much  worried,  and 
this  worry  was  far  from  dispelled  when  he  vis- 
ited his  room. 

"Colonel  Colby,  I,  too,  have  been  robbed!"  he 
exclaimed,  as  he  came  rushing  down  to  the  office. 
"I've  had  a  silver  cardcase  taken,  and  also  a  gold 
watch  which  has  been  in  our  family  for  several 
generations,  a  watch  that  belonged  to  my  father 
and  my  grandfather." 


THE    PARADE  153 

"It's  too  bad,  Professor  Duke,"  answered  the 
master  of  the  Hall  seriously.  "May  I  ask  what 
the  articles  were  worth?" 

"I  don't  suppose  the  cardcase  was  worth  more 
than  a  few  dollars,  but  the  watch  was  of  gold, 
and  I  presume  it  must  have  cost  fifty  or  sixty 
dollars.  It  was  an  heirloom  and  I  treasured  it 
highly." 

"I  am  doing  my  best  to  find  out  something 
about  the  robbery,"  said  Colonel  Colby.  "But 
so  far  all  my  efforts  have  been  in  vain.  I  intend, 
if  the  articles  are  not  recovered  by  the  time  the 
school  session  comes  to  an  end,  to  pay  for  every- 
thing that  has  been  stolen."  And  that  was  all  the 
master  of  the  Hall  could  say. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  both  Jack  and  Fred 
felt  quite  proud  when  the  first  regular  parade  of 
the  battalion  took  place  that  spring.  The  cousins 
had,  of  course,  sent  home  word  of  the  election 
and  had  received  permission  to  purchase  new  uni- 
forms. Both  looked  spick  and  span  as  they 
marched  out  at  the  head  of  their  respective  com- 
mands. It  was  a  clear,  warm  day,  and  Colonel 
Colby  announced  that  the  cadets  could  parade 
through  Haven  Point  to  Clearwater  Hall  and  re- 
turn if  they  so  desired. 

"Hurrah!    That's  the  stuff!"  cried  Fred. 

And  so  it  was  arranged,  and  one  of  the  teach- 


154    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

ers  telephoned  over  to  the  girls'  academy,  to  let 
those  at  that  institution  know  what  they  might 
expect.  Then  one  of  the  cadets  telephoned  to 
Felix  Falstein,  the  owner  of  the  Haven  Point 
moving  picture  theater. 

"Falstein  always  hangs  out  his  flags  for  us," 
said  this  cadet.  "And  he'll  do  it  this  time,  I'm 
sure." 

Colby  Hall  now  boasted  of  a  drum  and  fife 
corps  of  twelve  pieces,  and  they  made  merry  music 
as  the  battalion  marched  away  in  the  direction  of 
Haven  Point.  All  but  three  or  four  of  the  cadets 
were  in  the  best  of  spirits. 

"I  think  marching  over  to  Clearwater  Hall  is 
punk,"  declared  Brassy  Bangs,  with  a  snarl. 
"Why  can't  they  march  some  place  worth  while 
or  just  go  around  the  town  and  let  it  go  at  that?" 

"I  guess  Jack  Rover  wants  to  show  off  before 
those  girls,"  grumbled  Paul  Halliday. 

"I  wouldn't  go  if  I  could  get  out  of  it,"  growled 
Brassy. 

"Oh,  don't  squeal,"  returned  his  crony  quickly. 
"If  you  do  they'll  only  laugh  at  us  and  make  us 
go  anyway." 

"Attention  there,  Bangs!"  cried  the  captain  of 
Company  B,  the  command  to  which  Brassy  be- 
longed. "No  talking  in  the  ranks!"  And  there- 
upon the  cadets  became  silent. 


THE    PARADE  155 

As  had  been  anticipated,  when  the  cadets 
reached  Haven  Point  they  found  that  Felix  Fal- 
stein  had  outdone  himself  in  the  way  of  decora- 
tions. Not  only  were  several  flags  displayed 
across  the  front  of  his  theater,  but  he  had  strung 
two  big  flags  across  the  street,  and  between  them 
placed  a  banner  which  he  had  had  painted  some 
time  before  and  which  read: 

WELCOME  TO 
COLBY  HALL 

"That's  very  nice  of  him,"  remarked  Jack,  who 
was  marching  at  the  head  of  the  procession  with 
Captain  Dale  on  horseback  close  beside  him. 

"Very  nice,  indeed,  Major  Rover,"  answered 
the  military  man. 

"I  wonder  if  we  can't  come  to  a  halt  here  and 
go  through  the  manual  of  arms?"  went  on  the 
newly-elected  major. 

"Certainly,  if  you  wish  to  do  so." 

"Battalion  halt!"  called  out  Jack,  turning 
around,  and  the  three  companies  came  to  a  stop. 


CHAPTER  XV 

BASEBALL 

SOON  the  three  companies  of  the  Colby  Hall 
battalion  were  in  a  long  line  in  front  of  the  mov- 
ing picture  theater.  At  once  a  crowd  began  to 
gather  until  several  hundred  people  were  assem- 
bled. Then  the  cadets  were  put  through  the 
manual  of  arms,  after  which  followed  some  fancy 
evolutions  in  the  street  in  front  of  the  show  house. 

"Very  good!  Very  good,  indeed!"  shouted 
Felix  Falstein,  who  was  present. 

His  face  was  beaming  and  he  clapped  his  hands 
loudly,  and,  taking  this  hint,  the  crowd  applauded 
with  vigor.  Then  the  march  through  Haven 
Point  was  resumed  and  soon  the  cadets  came  in 
sight  of  Clearwater  Hall. 

They  had  good  reason  to  feel  proud  of  what 
those  at  the  girls'  school  had  done  in  their  honor. 
The  big  flag  was  flying  from  the  flagstaff  on  the 
campus  and  other  flags  were  displayed  from  the 
front  of  the  building.  In  addition  to  this  the 
classes  had  been  dismissed  for  the  time  being  and 

156 


BASEBALL  157 

nearly  all  the  girls  were  out  at  the  front  of  the 
school,  many  carrying  small  flags  which  they 
waved  vigorously  as  the  cadets  approached. 

"Oh,  don't  they  look  grand !"  cried  Mary. 

"Superb!"  added  Martha  ecstatically. 

"I  do  believe  Jack  has  a  brand  new  uniform," 
came  from  Ruth,  and  then  she  began  to  cheer 
and  all  the  girls  joined  in. 

The  cadets  had  been  cautioned  to  preserve  true 
military  discipline,  and  they  did  their  best  not  to 
smile  and  make  eyes  at  their  admirers  But  it 
was  hard  work,  and  many  a  face  broke  into  a  grin 
impossible  to  control. 

Opposite  the  school  the  command  came  to  a 
halt,  and  then  Miss  Garwood  and  a  number  of 
her  teachers  came  forward  to  greet  the  cadets 
and  those  with  them  and  invite  them  to  the  cam- 
pus. Here  another  drill  was  given,  the  girls  ap- 
plauding louder  than  ever  as  each  movement  was 
executed  with  a  precision  that  would  have  done 
credit  to  the  cadets  at  West  Point. 

"I'm  sure  that's  as  good  as  our  fathers  did  at 
Putnam  Hall,"  declared  Mary  to  her  cousin. 

Colonel  Colby  had  come  along  with  Captain 
Dale,  and  during  the  drilling  had  been  in  earnest 
conversation  with  Miss  Garwood.  Then  came  a 
surprise  as  the  cadets  were  asked  to  march  into 
the  dining  hall  of  the  girls'  school.  Here  they 


158    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

found  generous  plates  of  cake  and  ice-cream,  as 
well  as  glasses  of  refreshing  lemonade,  awaiting 
them. 

"Gee,  this  is  the  best  ever!"  declared  Andy, 
smacking  his  lips. 

"Yes.    And  what  a  surprise !"  returned  Randy. 

"Some  day  we'll  have  to  return  this  compli- 
ment," came  from  Jack.  "My,  wouldn't  it  be  a 
lark  to  have  the  girls  in  our  mess  hall  and  treat 
them?" 

"I  suppose  we'd  have  to  give  'em  regular  sok 
diers  fare,"  was  Andy's  dry  comment.  "Salt 
pork  and  baked  beans  and  things  like  that,"  and 
he  grinned. 

"Nothing  doing!"  declared  Fred.  "We'll  feed 
'em  toasted  marshmallows  and  angel  cake,"  and 
at  this  sally  there  was  a  laugh. 

Following  the  refreshments  the  cadets  were  al- 
lowed fifteen  minutes  in  which  to  walk  around 
the  school  campus  and  mingle  with  the  girl  stu- 
dents. Jack,  of  course,  at  once  sought  out  Ruth 
to  tell  her  personally  how  much  he  appreciated  the 
letter  she  had  sent. 

"I  hope,  Jack,  you  haven't  had  any  more  trouble 
with  Lester  Bangs,"  the  girl  said  anxiously. 

"Oh,  he's  growling  around  a  little,  but  that's 
all,"  answered  the  young  major.  "I'm  not  pay- 
ing any  attention  to  him,  Ruth.  I'm  mighty  glad 


BASEBALL  159 

that  you  didn't  accept  his  invitation,"  and  he  gave 
her  a  warm  glance. 

"It  was  awful  for  him  to  get  up  that  report 
about  another  party,"  answered  the  girl.  "Of 
course  I  didn't  think  it  was  true — that  is,  not 
what  he  said  about  you  and  your  cousins." 

"Suppose  we  let  the  whole  matter  drop,  Ruth, 
and  forget  Brassy  Bangs  and  his  crowd." 

"I'm  sure  I'm  willing  to  do  that,  Jack."  And 
then  the  girr  added  quickly:  "You've  had  some 
terrible  doings  over  at  the  Hall,  so  I  have  been 
told." 

"You  mean  the  robbery,  I  suppose?" 

"Yes.     Have  they  discovered  anything?" 

"Not  a  thing.     It  certainly  is  a  mystery." 

When  the  gathering  of  boys  and  girls  broke  up 
nearly  every  one  was  in  the  best  of  humor,  the 
only  exceptions  being  Brassy  Bangs  and  Paul 
Halliday.  These  two  unworthies  had  done  their 
best  to  get  on  friendly  terms  with  some  of  the 
girls,  but  had  been  snubbed  in  such  a  manner  that 
it  made  them  much  crestfallen. 

"I'll  be  glad  when  we  start  back,"  grumbled 
Brassy  to  his  crony. 

"Come  on,  let's  take  a  walk  outside,"  answered 
Halliday,  and  thereupon  the  pair  left  the  school 
grounds. 

"What  about  baseball  this  spring,  Jack?"  ques- 


160    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

tioned  his  sister  just  before  the  cadets  were  ready 
to  start. 

"I'll  be  out  of  that  this  year.  There  is  a  new 
ruling  that  officers  must  step  aside  and  let  the 
other  cadets  have  a  chance  on  the  baseball  nine 
and  the  football  eleven,  as  well  as  have  a  chance 
in  the  rowing  and  other  contests.  Colonel  Colby 
has  an  idea  that  not  enough  cadets  have  filled 
these  various  places  in  the  past.  He  wants  to 
give  every  fellow  a  chance  if  possible." 

"Well,  you  can't  blame  him  for  that." 

"Not  at  all,  Martha.  I'm  quite  content  to  step 
aside  so  far  as  baseball  is  concerned,  and  so  is 
Fred.  We  want  to  do  our  best  as  officers  and  also 
do  our  best  with  our  studies.  You  know  the  folks 
at  home  are  expecting  us  to  make  real  records  in 
the  classrooms." 

"I  know -that  only  too  well,  Jack.  Mary  and  I 
are  working  day  and  night  on  our  lessons  here. 
We're  going  to  do  our  best  to  come  out  either  at 
the  head  of  our  classes  or  very  near  to  it." 

"How  is  Ruth  making  out?" 

"She's  doing  very  well.  Of  course,  she  had  a 
hard  struggle  to  catch  up  on  account  of  the  time 
lost  because  of  her  eyesight." 

Following  the  parade  to  Clearwater  Hall  the 
cadets  settled  down  to  the  usual  routine  of  drills 
and  studies.  But  soon  there  came  a  call  for  as- 


BASEBALL  l6l 

pirants  to  the  baseball  team,  and  then  talk  of  the 
coming  matches  with  Columbus  Academy,  Hixley 
High,  and  Longley  Academy  filled  the  air. 

"Gee !  it  makes  my  hands  tingle  to  think  about 
baseball,"  sighed  Fred,  when  talking  the  matter 
over  with  Jack. 

"I  feel  the  same  way,"  answered  the  young 
major.  "But  remember,  Fred,  we  can't  have 
everything  in  this  world,  and  I'd  rather  be  major 
of  the  school  battalion — at  least,  for  one  term." 

"Of  course !  And  I'd  rather  be  captain  of  Com- 
pany C." 

"Gif  tells  me  there  are  going  to  be  a  number 
of  important  changes  on  the  nine,"  went  on  Jack. 
"A  lot  of  new  fellows  are  clamoring  to  get  on. 
They're  going  to  have  their  try-outs  in  a  day  or 
two." 

What  Jack  said  was  true,  and  the  following 
Saturday  afternoon  a  somewhat  patched-up  first 
team  played  a  scrub  team.  On  the  scrub,  some- 
what to  the  Rovers'  surprise,  were  Brassy  Bangs 
and  Paul  Halliday. 

"They  both  claim  to  know  a  whole  lot  about 
the  game,"  explained  Gif.  "So  I'm  bound  to  give 
them  a  try-out." 

"Why,  I  thought  Brassy  Bangs  came  from  a 
ranch  in  the  West?" 

"So  he  does.     But  he  told  me  they  frequently 


162    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

played  baseball  on  the  ranch  and  that  some  of  the 
cowboys  were  really  good  players.  He  said  one 
of  the  fellows  had  once  played  on  one  of  the  Mid- 
west Leagues." 

"Gee!  there's  no  telling  what  an  up-to-date 
cowboy  will  do  these  days,"  remarked  Andy. 
"Playing  baseball,  going  into  the  movies  and  into 
vaudeville,  and  I  don't  know  what  eke!" 

"I  guess  he  finds  more  money  in  the  doing  of 
those  things  than  he  does  in  the  herding  of  cows," 
answered  his  twin. 

The  game  between  the  patched-up  first  nine  and 
the  scrub  nine  resulted  in  a  tie,  7  to  7.  Jack  and 
his  cousins  watched  the  game  and  had  to  admit 
that  Brassy  Bangs  and  Paul  Halliday  did  quite 
well — in  fact,  much  better  than  had  been  ex- 
pected. 

After  that  the  practice  was  continued,  Gif,  as 
head  of  the  athletic  association,  trying  out  one 
player  after  another.  Then  came  the  final  selec- 
tion of  the  regular  club  to  represent  Colby  Hall, 
and  Brassy  Bangs  was  given  the  position  of  third 
baseman  while  Paul  Halliday  went  to  center  field. 

"I  think  I  ought  to  be  allowed  to  pitch,"  grum- 
bled Brassy.  "I'm  sure  I  can  send  'em  in  just  as 
good  as  any  of  those  other  fellows." 

"You  pitch  a  pretty  swift  ball,  I  admit,"  re- 
turned Gif.  "But  your  delivery  is  rather  erratic. 


BASEBALL  163 

You  put  them  over  the  catcher's  head  several 
times.  If  you  did  that  when  the  bases  were  full, 
it  would  mean  just  so  many  runs  coming  in." 
And  after  that  Brassy  said  no  more  about  pitch- 
ing. 

The  first  game  to  be  played  was  on  the  grounds 
of  Longley  Academy.  The  cadets  journeyed  to 
the  place  in  carriages  and  automobiles  and  on 
bicycles,  and  were  joined  by  quite  a  number  of 
the  girls  from  Clearwater  Hall. 

"Do  you  suppose  Tommy  Flanders  will  pitch?" 
questioned  Randy. 

"No.  They  tell  me  that  last  game  we  had  over 
here  was  too  much  for  Flanders  and  he  has  given 
up  the  nine  entirely.  I  think  they'll  put  in  that 
new  left-hander  that  they  tried  at  the  end  of  that 
game,"  answered  Jack.  And  in  this  surmise  he 
was  correct. 

When  the  first  man  came  to  the  bat  it  was  easy 
to  be  seen  that  both  nines  were  on  their  mettle. 
It  was  a  Colby  Hall  player  who  had  the  stick, 
and  the  left-handed  twirler  for  Longley  Academy 
struck  him  out  in  one-two-three  order. 

"Hurrah !  That's  the  way  to  do  it !"  yelled  one 
of  the  Longley  students.  "Now  make  it  three 
straight !" 

"Gee !  that  was  Nevins,  one  of  our  best  batters," 
whispered  Randy  to  his  cousin  Mary. 


164    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Never  mind  that,  Colby  Hall !"  shouted  Jack. 
"You've  got  to  encourage  'em  a  little  bit!"  and 
at  this  there  was  a  smile. 

The  next  man  to  the  bat  got  a  hit  and  on  a 
wild  pitch  managed  to  reach  third.  But  that  was 
all  that  could  be  done,  and  Colby  Hall  retired 
without  scoring. 

During  their  half  of  the  inning  Longley  Acad- 
emy managed  to  make  two  runs,  and  this  was  in- 
creased by  two  more  at  the  end  of  the  fourth 
inning.  In  the  meantime  the  best  Colby  Hall 
could  do  was  to  get  two  hits  and  bring  in  one 
run. 

"Hurrah !  Four  to  one  in  favor  of  Longley !" 
shouted  one  of  the  students  from  that  academy. 

"You've  got  to  tighten  up,  boys!"  called  out 
Fred  to  the  members  of  his  school  team.  "Tighten 
up  and  show  'em  what  you  can  do !" 

The  fifth  inning  passed  without  a  run,  and  so 
did  the  sixth.  Then  in  the  seventh  Colby  Hall 
managed  to  pass  the  home  plate  twice  while  Long- 
ley  Academy  scored  once.  This  made  the  score, 
Longley  Academy  5,  Colby  Hall  3. 

"Oh,  Jack,  it  looks  as  if  Colby  Hall  might  be 
beaten!"  said  Ruth  anxiously. 

"I  think  they  might  have  a  better  fellow  than 
Brassy  Bangs  on  third,"  put  in  Fred.  "He 
could  have  put  out  that  last  runner  with  ease. 


BASEBALL  l6$ 

That  run  wasn't  deserved  at  all."  And  a  num- 
ber of  others  who  heard  this  remark  agreed  with 
the  young  captain  of  Company  C. 

In  the  eighth  inning  Colby  Hall  made  one  more 
run.  Then  Longley  Academy  came  once  more  to 
the  bat,  and  with  two  men  on  first  and  second  and 
two  out,  the  batsman  knocked  a  high  fly  to  center 
field. 

"Scoop  it  in,  Halliday!" 

"It's  a  dead  easy  fly!" 

"They  won't  get  any  runs  this  inning!" 

So  the  shouts  from  the  Colby  Hall  boys  went 
on. 

In  the  meanwhile  Paul  Halliday  stepped  back 
a  few  paces  and  got  directly  under  the  descending 
sphere.  Down  it  came,  striking  his  finger  tips  and 
bouncing  over  his  head. 

"He's  muffed  it!  He's  muffed  it!"  yelled  sev- 
eral of  the  Longley  Academy  contingent  gleefully. 
"Run,  boys,  run!" 

And  how  the  runners  did  streak  from  base  to 
base !  And  before  the  ball  could  be  recovered  by 
the  bewildered  Halliday  the  three  runs  had  been 
scored. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SPOUTER   IS   CORNERED 

"HURRAH  for  Longley!" 

"That's  the  way  to  do  it !  That  makes  the  score 
eight  to  four!" 

"My,  what  a  muff  that  was !  That  center  fielder 
is  a  regular  butter-fingers !" 

"Soak  it  to  'em  good  and  plenty,  Longley! 
Only  two  men  out !" 

Thus  the  hubbub  on  the  part  of  the  students  of 
Longley  Academy  continued  while  the  cadets  of 
Colby  Hall  had  little  to  say.  There  were  one  or 
two  cries  to  take  Halliday  out  of  the  field,  but 
these  were  quickly  hushed. 

"Anybody  might  muff  a  ball,"  declared  Jack. 
"It's  too  bad,  but  probably  it  couldn't  be  helped." 

The  very  next  player  to  the  bat  knocked  a  liner 
between  first  and  second  and  got  to  second  on  a 
fumble  by  the  first  baseman.  Then  the  next 
player,  after  having  two  strikes  called  on  him, 
sent  a  low  one  down  to  center  field. 

166 


SP OUTER  IS   CORNERED  ify 

"Go  for  it,  Halliday !  Get  it !"  yelled  the  cadets 
eagerly. 

Halliday  ran  for  the  ball,  but  was  only  able 
to  get  it  on  the  first  bounce.  Then,  as  he  saw  the 
batsman  rounding  first  for  second,  he  threw  the 
ball  wildly. 

"Run,  Newcomb,  run!" 

"There  goes  the  ball  for  the  grandstand! 
Hurry  up,  Markle,  and  make  it  a  homer !" 

The  ball  had  sailed  over  the  head  of  the  run- 
ner and  landed  at  least  ten  feet  away  from  the 
home  plate.  The  catcher  made  a  dive  for  it  while 
the  pitcher  came  to  the  plate  to  stop  the  runners. 
But  it  was  too  late,  and  before  the  sphere  could 
be  sent  in  both  runs  had  been  scored. 

"Zip !    Boom !    Two  more  runs  for  Longley !" 

"That's  the  way  to  do  it,  boys !  Let's  snow  'em 
under!" 

"Take  Halliday  out !"  was  the  angry  cry  of  fully 
a  dozen  cadets.  "Take  him  out !  He  has  no  busi- 
ness on  the  team!" 

And  thereupon  amid  shouts  of  derision  Paul 
Halliday  was  compelled  to  quit  the  field  and  one 
of  the  substitutes  went  to  take  his  place. 

"It  wasn't  my  fault!  I  stepped  in  a  hole," 
growled  Halliday  when  he  came  to  the  bench.  He 
made  a  show  of  limping  badly.  "I  almost  sprained 
my  ankle." 


1 68    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Well,  your  two  errors  have  been  very  costly," 
answered  Gif  coldly. 

After  that  the  pitcher  for  Colby  Hall  tightened 
up,  and  the  next  man  up  was  put  out  on  strikes 
and  the  side  retired. 

With  the  score  10  to  4  against  them,  Colby 
Hall  did  what  it  could  to  redeem  itself  during  the 
last  inning.  They  made  one  run,  followed  by 
two  outs  and  two  hits  which  brought  a  man  on 
first  and  another  on  third.  Then  Brassy  Bangs 
came  to  the  bat. 

"Now,  Brassy,  here's  your  chance !" 

"Knock  it  over  the  back  lots !" 

Brassy  set  his  teeth  and  swung  the  bat  with  a 
do-or-dare  expression.  Then  the  first  ball  pitched 
came  in  an  outcurve  which  he  swung  at  in  vain. 

"Take  your  time !"  called  out  Gif. 

The  next  was  an  incurve,  but  Brassy  swung  at 
it  and  missed  again. 

"Strike  two!" 

"Hit  it,  Brassy!    Hit  it!" 

"Knock  the  cover  off!" 

"Take  your  time !  Wait  until  you  get  just  what 
you  want !" 

And  thereupon  Brassy  Bangs  did  wait — until 
he  had  three  strikes  called  upon  him  and  was  de- 
clared out. 

"That  ends  the  game !" 


SP OUTER  IS  CORNERED  169 

"And  the  score  is  ten  to  five  in  favor  of  Long- 
ley  Academy!" 

"Hurrah!  That's  the  time  we  showed  Colby 
Hall  what  we  can  do !" 

The  Longley  Academy  boys  went  wild  in  their 
enthusiasm  and  danced  around  the  field  like  so 
many  Indians.  And  they  had  good  cause  to  be 
elated,  for  they  remembered  only  too  well  the 
drubbing  they  had  gotten  at  the  hands  of  Colby 
Hall  the  season  before  when  Jack  and  Fred  had 
made  such  records  for  themselves. 

The  Colby  Hall  cadets  could  say  nothing 
against  the  record  made  by  the  Longley  nine. 
They  had  put  up  a  stiff  fight  from  the  start  and 
deserved  their  laurels. 

"Our  defeat  was  largely  due  to  Halliday  and 
Bangs,"  declared  Spouter.  "Between  them  they 
let  in  at  least  five  runs." 

"That's  exactly  the  truth,"  answered  Dan  Sop- 
pinger.  "If  I  were  Gif  I'd  read  the  riot  act  to 
those  two  players." 

"Oh,  I  don't  think  I'd  be  too  hard  on  them," 
came  from  Jack.  "Anybody  might  have  muffed 
that  ball  down  in  center  field,  and  any  of  us 
might  have  struck  out  as  Brassy  did." 

"But  both  of  them  made  several  other  errors," 
put  in  Walt  Baxter. 

On  the  way  back  to  Colby  Hall  the  students 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 


were  free  in  their  comments  on  the  game,  and 
thei'e  were  many  uncomplimentary  things  said 
about  Brassy  and  Halliday.  Those  two  players 
tried  to  excuse  themselves  as  best  they  could; 
but  a  baseball  player  who  has  not  made  good  sel- 
dom gets  any  sympathy. 

"I'll  give  you  both  another  chance  in  the  game 
with  Hixley  High,"  said  Gif  at  last,  in  talking  the 
matter  over  with  the  two  players.  "But  if  you 
make  a  single  error  it  will  cost  you  your  posi- 
tions." 

The  game  with  Hixley  High  came  off  on  the 
following  Saturday  and  was  won  by  the  narrow 
score  of  7  to  6.  In  the  second  inning  Halliday 
made  another  wild  throw  from  center  to  second, 
void  Brassy  Bangs  made  a  bad  fumble  in  the  fourth 
inning,  and  as  a  consequence  both  were  retired 
and  substitutes  put  in  their  places. 

"It  was  certainly  a  narrow  squeak,"  declared 
Fred,  when  the  game  was  over  and  the  boys  were 
preparing  to  celebrate  that  evening.  "I  believe  if 
Gif  had  kept  Brassy  and  Halliday  on  the  team 
we  would  have  lost." 

"Well,  we  may  lose  some  other  games  even 
SG,"  said  Jack.  And  he  was  right.  Out  of  a 
total  of  seven  games  played  with  the  other  schools 
of  that  vicinity  that  season  Colby  Hall  won  but 
four. 


SP OUTER  IS   CORNERED  171 

"Well,  we  can't  win  every  year,"  declared 
Randy.  "And  we're  half  a  game  to  the  good  any- 
way, and  that's  something." 

"It's  certainly  better  than  being  half  a  game 
behind,"  answered  his  twin. 

While  these  matters  were  going  on  Colonel 
Colby  and  Captain  Dale  had  been  doing  every- 
thing possible  with  the  aid  of  the  local  police, 
and  also  a  private  detective  who  had  been  called 
in,  to  solve  the  mystery  concerning  the  robbery 
at  the  school.  But  all  efforts  seemed  to  be  in 
vain.  Not  a  trace  of  the  person  or  persons  who 
had  committed  the  crime  could  be  found.  It  was 
a  great  mystery. 

"I  think  I'll  have  to  settle  with  all  of  the  boys 
and  with  Professor  Duke,"  said  Colonel  Colby 
to  his  head  assistant.  "And  there  I  suppose  the 
matter  will  have  to  be  dropped." 

Later  on  he  took  up  the  various  claims  and 
paid  each  one  of  them  in  cash. 

"I  am  very  thankful  to  you  for  this,  Colonel 
Colby,"  declared  Snopper  Duke,  when  he  received 
his  money.  "It  will  come  in  quite  handy,  I  as- 
sure you.  And  yet  I  am  much  distressed  over 
that  watch  which  once  belonged  to  my  grand- 
father." 

"Well,  I  hope  it  is  brought  to  light  some  day, 
Professor,"  answered  the  master  of  the  Hall. 


172    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"And  if  it  is  then  you  can  pay  me  back  for  it," 
and  he  smiled  faintly. 

In  those  days  a  number  of  the  cadets  noticed 
that  Snopper  Duke  seemed  to  be  much  preoccu- 
pied. He  paid  hardly  any  attention  to  what  his 
pupils  were  doing  and  was  so  absent-minded  that 
often  he  answered  the  simplest  questions  in  the 
most  ridiculous  manner. 

"He's  certainly  got  something  on  his  mind," 
was  Fred's  comment.  "I  must  say  I'd  like  to 
know  what  it  can  be." 

"Maybe  we'll  never  know,"  answered  Jack. 
"But  because  of  what  Colonel  Colby  said  I'm  cer- 
tainly going  to  be  careful  how  I  treat  him.  He 
may  have  more  of  a  load  on  his  mind  and  heart 
than  any  of  us  imagine." 

It  now  lacked  but  ten  days  to  the  end  of  the 
term,  and  the  boys  were  busy  finishing  up  with 
the  examinations  in  the  various  classes  and  also 
in  writing  the  final  essays  to  be  handed  in.  All 
had  worked  hard  to  make  a  showing. 

"Just  think !  Only  ten  days  more !"  exclaimed 
Andy,  throwing  a  grammar  across  his  room  at 
Randy.  "Doesn't  it  make  you  feel  fine?" 

"It  sure  does !"  answered  his  twin,  catching  the 
book  and  sending  it  back  so  quickly  that  his 
brother  was  hit  in  the  stomach.  "And  that  puts 
me  in  mind,  Andy  Why  not  get  at  Spouter  and 


SP OUTER  IS  CORNERED  173 

make  him  tell  us  what  he's  got  in  mind  about  our 
vacation  this  summer?" 

"Let's  do  it!  Come  on!  We'll  get  Fred  and 
Jack  and  Gif  and  go  and  pound  it  out  of  him." 

All  alive  with  their  scheme,  the  twins  burst  in 
upon  the  other  Rovers  while  they  were  busy  writ- 
ing their  essays  and  broached  the  subject.  The 
others  agreed,  and  Fred  ran  off  to  get  Gif.  Then 
the  whole  crowd  rounded  up  Spouter,  and  grab- 
bing him  by  the  arms  fairly  forced  him  along  the 
corridor  and  into  the  Rover  boys'  sitting  room. 

"Now,  Spouter,  you've  got  to  tell  us !"  declared 
Randy.  "No  more  secrets!" 

"Oh,  gee!  Is  that  it?"  was  Spouter's  reply. 
"I  thought  you  wanted  to  borrow  a  nickel  from 
me,  or  something  like  that,"  and  he  smiled  feebly. 

"Come  on  now,  Spouter!  Give  it  to  us 
straight,"  demanded  Fred. 

"No  more  sawing  and  fiddling,"  put  in  Andy. 
"We  want  straight  goods.  Where  are  we  going 
this  summer?" 

"You're  going  with  me,"  answered  Spouter, 
with  a  grin. 

"So  you've  told  us  about  three  thousand  times. 
But  where  are  we  going?" 

"You're  going  home  first." 

"Pound  him,  fellows,  pound  him !  Throw  him 
down  and  pound  him  good!"  and  thereupon  the 


174    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

whole  crowd  pounced  upon  the  luckless  schemer. 

"Hold  on!  Hold  on!  Let  me  up!"  spluttered 
Spouter.  "Let  me  up,  and  I'll  tell  you  every- 
thing!" 

"Honest?"  demanded  Andy.  "If  you  fool  us 
this  time  we'll  drag  you  to  the  bathroom  and 
duck  you." 

"Cross  my  heart !"  panted  Spouter.  "Now  let 
me  up !" 

The  others  allowed  him  to  arise  and  then  forced 
him  into  an  easy  chair  in  the  corner  and  all  stood 
over  him  menacingly. 

"You  are  going  to  spend  your  vacation  at  a  new 
place  which  was  purchased  by  my  dad  only  a  few 
months  ago,"  answered  Spouter. 

"And  what  place  is  that?"  came  in  a  chorus 
from  his  chums. 

"Big  Horn  Ranch." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

GOOD-BYE   TO   SCHOOL 

"WHAT  do  you  know  about  that !" 

"Big  Horn  Ranch!    That  sounds  interesting!" 

"What  sort  of  a  place  is  it,  Spouter?" 

"I  suppose  you  must  have  thousands  of  heads 
of  cattle?" 

"How  about  horses,  Spouter?  We'll  have 
enough  mounts,  sha'n't  we?" 

"Any  good  hunting  or  fishing?" 

"Stop!  Stop!  What  are  you  trying  to  do?" 
spluttered  Spouter.  "Trying  to  drown  me  in  a 
flood  of  questions?  Why  don't  you  ask  one 
thing  at  a  time?" 

"Well,  where  is  the  ranch  and  how  are  we  go- 
ing to  get  to  it  ?"  questioned  Jack. 

"And  how  big  is  it?"  put  in  Fred. 

And  then  came  another  flood  of  questions  until 
poor  Spouter  placed  his  hands  to  his  ears  in  dis- 
may. 

"I  can't  answer  everything  at  once,"  he  said 
finally.  "So  you'd  better  let  me  tell  what  I  know 

175 


176    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

in  my  own  way.  Big  Horn  Ranch  is  located 
in  Montana,  and  it  comprises  a  thousand  acres  or 
more — how  large  I  don't  exactly  know.  To  get 
there  you  journey  by  rail  to  a  little  jumping-off 
place  called  Four  Rocks,  and  then  you  have  to 
ride  or  drive  to  the  ranch,  which  is  four  or  five 
miles  away.  The  nearest  town  of  any  size  is 
Arrow  Junction,  which  is  quite  a  distance  off. 

"How  is  it  your  dad  bought  a  place  like  that?" 
broke  in  Gif.  "I  didn't  know  he  was  interested 
in  ranches." 

"Oh,  he  has  always  liked  outdoor  life — you  all 
know  that.  And  this  ranch  came  to  him  in  rather 
an  unexpected  way.  There  were  two  brothers  who 
were  interested  in  a  speculation  in  which  my  dad 
was  interested,  too.  My  dad  advanced  a  lot  o/ 
money  to  these  brothers,  and  as  they  couldn't  pay 
up  in  cash  they  asked  him  if  he  wouldn't  take  the 
ranch  off  their  hands  by  allowing  them  an  addi- 
tional thirty  thousand  dollars.  So  he  made  a  trip 
out  there  in  company  with  another  man  who  knew 
all  about  ranches  and  then  he  concluded  to  buy, 
and  did  so.  So  now  we  own  Big  Horn  Ranch, 
and  the  family  expects  to  spend  a  large  part  of 
each  summer  there." 

"And  your  father  said  we  could  all  go  out  there 
with  you  ?"  questioned  Randy. 

"Yes.     He  told  me  to  invite  you  four  Rovers 


GOOD-BYE  TO  SCHOOL  177 

and  also  Gif.  And  that  isn't  all,"  went  on 
Spouter.  "He's  invited  all  your  folks  out  there, 
too.  He's  going  to  make  a  great  big  house-party 
of  it!" 

"Our  folks !"  exclaimed  Fred.  "What  do  you 
mean?  They  can't  all  go.  Uncle  Dick  is  just 
back  from  Texas,  and  somebody  has  got  to  look 
after  the  offices  in  New  York." 

"It  has  been  arranged  that  your  father  and 
mother  are  to  go  along  first,  Fred,  and  later  on 
Randy  and  Andy's  father  and  mother  are  to  come 
out.  Then,  when  they  go  back  to  New  York,  it's 
possible  that  Jack's  folks  will  come  West  before 
the  season  is  over.  Gif's  folks  have  not  decided 
on  what  they  can  do,  but  will  let  us  know  in  a 
week  or  two." 

"And  what  about  the  girls?"  questioned  Fred 
quickly. 

"Of  course,  they  are  to  go  along,  too.  Martha 
will  go  with  Mary  and  her  folks,  and  May  will, 
of  course,  be  with  my  mother,  and  she  is  going 
to  try  to  get  Ruth  to  go  with  her." 

"But  Ruth  said  she  was  going  somewhere  else," 
remarked  Jack,  and  his  face  showed  disappoint- 
ment. 

"I  know  that,  Jack.  But  I  think  May  can  get 
the  Stevensons  to  allow  her  to  go.  Anyway,  all 
the  girls  are  going  to  try." 


1 78    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

After  that  the  Rovers  and  Gif  asked  many 
other  questions  concerning  Big  Horn  Ranch  and 
Spouter  told  them  all  he  could. 

"Of  course,  I  know  only  what  dad  has  written 
and  what  was  said  about  the  ranch  before  we 
purchased  it.  I  suppose  I'll  learn  a  lot  more  as 
soon  as  I  go  home,  and  then  I'll  let  you  know 
about  it." 

"Gee!  we  ought  to  have  the  best  time  ever," 
exclaimed  Andy  gleefully,  as  he  caught  Spouter 
by  the  shoulders  and  commenced  to  dance  him 
around  the  room. 

"It  was  certainly  well  worth  waiting  for, 
Spouter,"  came  from  Jack. 

"I  don't  see  how  you  managed  to  keep  it  a  se- 
cret," put  in  Randy.  "I'd  have  been  bustin'  to 
tell  it  every  minute." 

"Well,  I  had  a  job  of  it,  believe  me,  with  you 
fellows  dinging  at  me  all  the  time,"  was  Spouter's 
answer. 

"When  do  you  suppose  we  can  start?"  ques- 
tioned Fred. 

"That,  of  course,  will  depend  a  good  deal  on 
you  and  your  folks,"  answered  Spouter.  "My 
folks  are  already  out  there,  getting  the  ranch  in 
readiness  for  visitors.  I  suppose  you'll  want  to 
go  home  over  the  Fourth  of  July,  but  maybe  you'll 
be  able  to  start  West  right  after  that." 


GOOD-BYE  TO  SCHOOL  179 

"I  don't  know  what  could  hold  us  back." 

"Is  the  ranch  house  big  enough  to  accommo- 
date such  a  large  crowd?"  questioned  Jack. 
"There  are  a  lot  of  us,  remember." 

"I  think  so.  You  see  the  ranch  is  really  a  com- 
bination of  two  ranches,  the  buildings  of  one 
ranch  were  located  near  the  eastern  boundary 
while  the  buildings  of  the  other  ranch  were  set 
equally  close  to  the  western  boundary,  and  as  a 
result  the  two  sets  of  buildings  are  not  very  far 
apart.  Father  and  mother  didn't  know  exactly 
what  they  were  going  to  do.  They  said  they 
would  either  divide  the  party  between  the  two 
ranch  houses  or  otherwise  send  all  the  hired  help 
to  one  of  the  houses  and  keep  our  whole  party  at 
the  other." 

"It  would  be  nice  if  we  could  stick  together," 
said  Randy. 

"Oh,  it  won't  make  much  difference,  because, 
as  I  understand  it,  it's  only  a  short  walk  from  one 
set  of  buildings  to  the  other." 

After  this  revelation  from  Spouter  it  was  diffi- 
cult for  the;  Rover  boys  and  Gif  to  settle  down 
once  more  to  their  essay  writing  and  their  exami- 
nations. However,  all  did  their  best,  and  when 
the  school  term  came  to  an  end  each  had  made  a 
creditable  showing. 

"I'll  be  proud  to  take  this  card  home  and  show 


ISO    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

it,"  said  Fred,  as  he  examined  the  pasteboard 
which  had  been  handed  to  him. 

Out  of  a  possible  100  per  cent,  he  had  received 
94  per  cent.  Jack  had  passed  with  92  per  cent., 
Randy  with  89  per  cent.,  and  Andy  with  88  per 
cent.  This  last  figure  was  the  one  also  reached 
by  Gif.  Spouter,  who  was  naturally  a  very  studi- 
ous person,  had  possed  with  the  highest  mark  of 
the  class — 96  per  cent. 

"Well,  eighty-eight  per  cent,  isn't  as  good  as  it 
might  be,  but  it's  a  good  deal  better  than  lots  of 
the  fellows  made,"  remarked  Andy.  "And  it's  a 
long  way  from  the  failure  mark — below  seventy.'* 

Of  course  the  boys  had  already  talked  over  the 
telephone  to  the  girls,  and  then  it  leaked  out  that 
all  of  those  at  Clearwater  Hall  knew  about  Big 
Horn  Ranch  and  that  Ruth  was  almost  certain 
that  she  could  go  with  the  Rover  girls  and  May. 

"If  we  all  go  together  we  had  better  charter  a 
private  car,"  remarked  Jack. 

"Say,  that  would  be  something  worth  while!" 
put  in  Fred,  with  satisfaction.  "Let's  put  it  up  to 
our  folks!" 

Two  days  before  the  boys  were  to  leave  for 
home,  Randy  saw  a  messenger  boy  deliver  a  tele- 
gram to  Snopper  Duke.  The  professor  read  the 
brief  communication  and  then  Randy  saw  him 
stagger  up  against  a  chair  in  the  hallway  as  if 


GOOD-BYE  TO  SCHOOL  181 

about  to  fall.  He  rushed  forward  and  caught  the 
professor  by  the  arm. 

"What  is  the  trouble,  Professor?"  he  questioned 
kindly,  for  he  could  see  that  Snopper  Duke  was 
in  deep  distress. 

"I — I Don't  mind  me,  Rover,"  stam- 
mered the  teacher.  "It's  a  little  bad  news,  that's 
all.  And  coming  on  top  of  some  other  bad  news 
I've  received  lately  I  can  hardly  stand  it,"  and 
with  these  words  Snopper  Duke  turned  and  went 
slowly  upstairs  to  his  room.  Half  an  hour  later 
he  was  closeted  with  Colonel  Colby  and  then  drove 
away  from  the  Hall;  and  that  was  the  last  the 
Colby  Hall  cadets  saw  of  the  strange  teacher  dur- 
ing that  term. 

"He's  certainly  got  something  on  his  mind," 
said  Randy,  in  telling  the  others  of  the  incident. 
"Ajid  I  must  confess  I'm  growing  really  sorry 
for  him." 

On  the  next  day  came  another  surprise  for  the 
Rovers.  All  of  them  were  out  on  the  campus 
when  they  saw  Brassy  Bangs  leap  a  side  hedge 
and  start  toward  the  school.  At  the  same  time 
they  saw  a  tall  man  wearing  a  slouch  hat  hurry- 
ing off  in  the  opposite  direction. 

"Hello !  there  is  that  fellow  Brassy  had  trouble 
with  in  town,"  exclaimed  Randy. 

"Just  look  at  Brassy!"  whispered  Fred,  after 


182    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

the  youth  had  passed  them  and  gone  into  the  Hall. 
"Why,  he's  as  pale  as  a  ghost !" 

"It  certainly  is  a  mystery  about  Brassy  and 
that  strange  man,"  was  Jack's  comment.  "Just 
as  much  of  a  mystery  as  about  Professor  Duke's 
doings." 

Soon  the  boys  were  busy  packing  up,  getting 
ready  to  leave.  Then  came  the  usual  jolly  times 
just  previous  to  saying  good-bye  to  their  fellow- 
cadets  and  the  teachers.  The  students  were  to 
scatter  in  all  directions  and  the  majority  of  them 
expected  to  have  a  glorious  time  during  the  sum- 
mer vacation.  Phil  Franklin  was  to  go  back  to 
the  oil  fields,  to  visit  his  father. 

At  the  railroad  station  the  Rovers  met  Mary 
and  Martha  and  also  some  of  the  other  girls,  and 
here  many  good-byes  were  said. 

"I  hope  you  get  a  chance  to  get  out  to  Big 
Horn  Ranch,"  said  Jack  to  Ruth. 

"So  do  I,  Jack.  But  I  haven't  received  permis- 
sion to  go  yet.  If  I  don't  get  there  you  must  write 
to  me." 

"I  certainly  will,  Ruth.  And  you  must  write 
also.  But  come  out  if  you  possibly  can." 

The  home-coming  of  the  Rovers  was,  as  usual, 
made  a  gala  event.  The  three  mothers  had  come 
down  to  meet  their  children  and  there  was  a  happy 
reunion  at  the  Grand  Central  Terminal,  and  then 


GOOD-BYE  TO  SCHOOL  183 

the  three  families  drove  off  in  their  automobiles 
to  their  homes  on  Riverside  Drive.  A  little  later 
the  fathers  of  the  young  folks  came  in  from 
downtown,  and  that  night  there  was  a  grand  din- 
ner spread  for  all  in  Tom  Rover's  house. 

"Gosh,  it's  good  to  be  home  once  more, 
Mother !"  cried  Andy,  and  hugged  his  parent  from 
one  side  while  his  twin  hugged  her  from  the  other, 

"And  it's  mighty  good  to  think  that  we  can  all 
be  together,"  came  from  Jack.  "It's  so  different 
from  what  it  was  when  the  war  was  going  on." 

"Oh,  please  don't  speak  of  the  war!  I  never 
want  to  hear  of  it  again !"  put  in  Martha. 

"And  to  think  we're  all  going  out  to  Big  Horn 
Ranch!"  burst  out  Fred.  "Isn't  that  just  the 
grandest  ever?" 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

ON   THE   WAY   WEST 

"WELL,  we're  off  for  Big  Horn  Ranch  at  last!" 

"It  certainly  is  a  grand  prospect,  eh,  Jack?  We 
ought  to  have  barrels  of  fun  on  the  ranch." 

"Yes,  Randy,  it  certainly  ought  to  make  a 
dandy  vacation." 

"I'm  fairly  itching  to  get  on  horseback,"  put 
in  Andy.  "What  dandy  rides  we  shall  have !" 

"Maybe  we'll  get  a  chance  to  break  in  a 
broncho,"  put  in  Fred,  with  a  grin. 

"Don't  you  dare  do  such  a  thing,  Fred  Rover !" 
burst  out  his  sister  Mary.  "Most  likely  the  bronco 
would  break  your  neck." 

"Well,  we  won't  bust  any  broncos  until  we  get 
to  the  ranch,"  came  with  a  smile  from  Fred's 
father,  who  had  followed  the  young  people  into 
the  sleeping  car  at  the  Grand  Central  Terminal. 

It  was  the  day  of  their  departure  for  the  West, 
and  the  young  folks  were  quivering  with  sup- 
pressed excitement.  Sam  Rover  and  his  wife 

184 


ON  THE  WAY  WEST  185 

headed  the  party,  which  consisted  of  the  four 
boys  and  the  two  girls. 

Fourth  of  July  had  been  spent  rather  quietly 
at  home  preparing  for  the  trip.  Of  course,  Andy 
and  Randy  had  had  some  fun,  especially  with  fire- 
works in  the  evening,  but  otherwise  the  young 
folks  had  been  too  preoccupied  with  their  ar- 
rangements for  getting  away  to  pay  special  atten- 
tion to  the  national  holiday. 

It  had  been  arranged  that  only  the  Rovers  men- 
tioned above  should  at  first  make  the  trip  to  the 
ranch,  and  Gif  and  Spouter  were  to  meet  them  in 
Chicago,  where  they  would  change  cars  for  Mon- 
tana. Tom  Rover  and  his  wife  were  to  come  to 
the  ranch  two  weeks  later  and  bring  with  them 
May  Powell  and  Ruth  Stevenson.  Later  still  it 
was  barely  possible  that  Dick  Rover  and  his  wife 
would  come  West. 

Jack's  idea  of  chartering  a  private  car  haa 
fallen  through  because  not  all  of  the  party  to 
meet  at  Big  Horn  Ranch  were  to  go  at  the  same 
time.  But  those  now  gathered  had  seats  at  one 
end  of  the  sleeper  along  with  a  private  compart- 
ment for  Mrs.  Rover  and  the  two  girls,  so  they 
were  all  comfortable. 

The  boys  were  in  the  best  of  spirits;  and  for 
a  while  Sam  Rover  had  his  hands  full  making 
Andy  and  Randy  behave. 


186    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"I  hope  we  strike  a  lot  of  lively  cowboys,  Uncle 
Sam,"  broke  out  Andy. 

"Perhaps  you'll  find  some  of  the  cowboys  too 
lively,"  was  the  answer. 

Jack  and  Fred,  as  well  as  their  sisters,  were 
disappointed  that  May  and  Ruth  had  not  been  able 
to  accompany  them,  but  they  were  glad  to  knovr 
that  the  others  would  follow  later  to  the  ranch. 

Soon  New  York  was  left  behind  and  the  train 
was  speeding  along  the  Hudson  River  on  its  way 
to  Albany. 

"Just  think!  By  this  time  to-morrow  we'll  be 
in  Chicago,"  remarked  Martha.  "Isn't  it  won- 
derful how  you  can  cover  such  a  distance?" 

"Do  you  know,  I  almost  wish  we  were  going 
out  there  in  an  auto,"  returned  Fred.  "That 
would  be  a  trip  worth  taking." 

"Especially  if  you  had  to  put  on  all  the  extra 
tires  along  the  way,  Fred,"  added  Andy,  with  a 
grin. 

"Oh,  well,  I  guess  I  could  do  that,  too,  if  I  had 
to,"  answered  the  youngest  Rover  boy  quickly. 
"But  the  roads  from  here  to  Chicago  are  pretty 
good,  they  tell  me,  so  I  don't  think  we'd  have 
many  punctures  or  blow-outs." 

"Such  a  trip  would  be  dandy,  only  it  might 
take  more  time  than  we'd  care  to  spend  on  the 
way  right  now,"  remarked  Jack.  "Personally  I 


ON  THE  WAY  WEST  187 

\vant  to  get  out  to  Big  Horn  Ranch  as  soon  as 
possible." 

"Exactly  my  sentiments,"  came  from  Randy. 
"Me  for  the  mountains  and  plains  and  a  life  in 
the  open  air !" 

"Oh,  for  a  life  in  the  open  air, 
Under  the  skies  so  blue  and  fair!" 

sang  out  Andy  gayly. 

"Gee,  Andy  is  bursting  into  poetry!"  cried 
Fred.  "What's  going  to  happen  next?" 

"Maybe  he  ate  something  that  didn't  agree  with 
him,"  giggled  Mary. 

"You'd  better  bottle  up  that  poetry  stuff, 
Andy,"  remarked  Jack.  "Remember  we're  going 
out  to  a  ranch  owned  by  Songbird  Powell,  and  he 
was  nicknamed  Songbird  while  at  Putnam  Hall 
because  he  was  always  bursting  out  into  home- 
made poetry.  Maybe  we'll  get  a  surplus  of  it 
when  we  get  out  to  the  ranch." 

Lunch  was  had  in  the  dining  car,  and  almost 
before  the  young  folks  realized  it  the  train  was. 
rolling  into  Albany.  Here  an  extra  car  was  at- 
tached, and  then  they  were  off  on  the  long  jour- 
ney through  the  Mohawk  Valley  to  Buffalo,. 
Cleveland,  and  the  great  city  by  the  Lakes. 

After  the  train  had  passed  Utica  Andy  and 
Randy,  who  found  it  hard  to  sit  still,  took  a  walk 


188    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

through  the  cars  from  end  to  end,  thinking  they 
might  meet  somebody  they  knew.  They  were 
gone  so  long  that  Sam  Rover  became  a  little  wor- 
ried over  them. 

"I  think  I'll  hunt  them  up,"  he  said  to  his  wife. 
"For  all  we  know  they  may  have  gotten  into  some 
mischief." 

"More  than  likely  they're  into  something,"  an- 
swered Mrs.  Grace  Rover.  "They're  exactly  like 
their  father  Tom  when  it  comes  to  stirring  things 
up." 

Sam  Rover  was  just  leaving  his  seat  when  Andy 
and  Randy  came  back  to  the  car.  Their  faces 
showed  their  excitement. 

"What  do  you  think !"  exclaimed  Randy,  as  he 
dropped  into  a  seat.  "We  met  that  same  fellow 
who  was  threatening  Brassy  Bangs  at  Haven 
Point." 

"Was  Brassy  with  him?"  questioned  Jack 
quickly. 

"No.  But  two  other  men  were  with  him,  and 
it's  a  tough  crowd,  believe  me." 

"Where  are  they?"  questioned  Fred. 

"Two  cars  behind.  And  from  the  way  the 
three  talked  they  must  have  gotten  on  at  Albany. 
The  fellow  Brassy  had  something  to  do  with  is 
tough  enough,  but  the  other  two  men  seem  to  be 
much  worse.  By  their  talk,  they  are  cattle  men. 


ON  THE   WAY  WEST  189 

and  I  shouldn't  be  surprised  if  they  have  been 
cowboys." 

"And  that  isn't  all !"  added  Andy.  "They  spoke 
about  going  to  Arrow  Junction !" 

"Arrow  Junction!"  repeated  Fred.  "Why, 
that's  the  town  that  Spouter  said  was  nearest  to 
Big  Horn  Ranch!" 

"What  were  they  going  to  do  at  Arrow  Junc- 
tion?" questioned  Jack. 

"They've  got  some  sort  of  a  deal  on  for  hand- 
ling horses  and  cattle.  We  couldn't  make  out 
exactly  what  it  was,"  answered  Randy.  "But 
they  certainly  are  a  tough  bunch.  It  looks  to  me 
as  if  they  might  have  been  drinking." 

"Did  you  hear  them  mention  Brassy?"  asked 
Fred. 

"No.  But  that  fellow  who  met  Brassy  at  Haven 
Point,  the  chap  called  Bud  Haddon,  told  the  oth- 
ers he  had  struck  a  real  snap  in  the  East.  And 
one  of  the  others  answered  that  he  had  noticed 
that  Bud  was  rather  flush." 

"It's  certainly  a  mystery  what  that  fellow  had 
to  do  with  Brassy,"  remarked  Jack.  And  then 
of  a  sudden  his  face  became  a  study. 

A  sudden  thought  had  occurred  to  him,  and  it 
was  such  a  horrible  one  that  he  was  inclined  to 
force  it  from  his  mind.  And  yet  it  came  bobbing 
up  time  and  again  until  Fred,  who  was  sitting 


190    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

beside  his  cousin,  noticed  that  something  was  on 
his  mind. 

"What  are  you  thinking  of,  Jack?    Ruth?" 

"No,  Fred.  I  was  thinking  of  that  fellow  who 
met  Brassy  Bangs  in  Haven  Point." 

"You're  wondering,  I  suppose,  why  Brassy  let 
him  have  some  money." 

"Partly  that  and  partly  something  else,  Fred. 
But  it's  so  horrible  I  hate  to  think  of  it." 

"Why,  what  do  you  mean,  Jack?" 

"Well,  if  you  must  know,  it  just  happened  to 
cross  my  mind  that  that  Bud  Haddon  was  hang- 
ing around  Haven  Point  and  was  seen  around  the 
school  several  times  just  when  Colby  Hall  was 
robbed." 

As  the  young  major  uttered  these  words  in  a 
low  tone  of  voice,  Fred  stared  at  him  in  aston- 
ishment. 

"My  gracious,  Jack,  that's  so!"  he  whispered. 
"Isn't  it  queer  we  didn't  think  of  it  before  ?  From 
what  Andy  and  Randy  tell  of  how  that  fellow 
treated  Brassy  I  wouldn't  put  it  past  him  to  be 
a  bad  one.  But  if  he  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  robbery  at  the  school,  do  you  think  Brassy 
had,  too?" 

"I  don't  know  what  to  think,  Fred.  Brassy 
never  struck  me  as  that  sort  of  a  fellow.  He's 
loud-mouthed  and  he's  got  a  big  opinion  of  him- 


ON  THE  WAY  WEST  191 

Self,  and  all  that,  but  I  never  put  him  down  as 
being  crooked." 

"Neither  did  I.  But  you  must  remember  one 
thing — that  fellow  was  dinging  at  him  for  money. 
He  said  Brassy  must  get  it  or  there  would  be 
trouble." 

"Yes,  I'm  remembering  that,  Fred.  I  must 
confess  it  looks  pretty  bad.  But  I  don't  think 
we  had  better  say  anything  until  we  know  more 
about  the  men." 

"Let's  pump  Andy  and  Randy  all  we  can." 

Fred's  suggestion  was  followed  out,  and  the 
four  Rover  boys  talked  the  matter  over  among 
themselves.  The  twins  were  as  much  surprised 
as  Fred  had  been  when  Jack  mentioned  what  was 
in  his  mind. 

"Gee,  that  Bud  Haddon  may  be  the  guilty  one !" 
burst  out  Randy.  "Why  didn't  we  think  of  this 
before?  Colonel  Colby  might  have  put  a  detec- 
tive on  his  trail." 

"Do  you  think  we  ought  to  send  him  a  tele- 
gram or  anything  like  that?"  asked  Andy. 

"It  wouldn't  do  much  good.  What  would  be 
better,  I  think,  is  for  us  to  watch  the  man  and 
see  if  we  can  find  out  more  about  him.  If  he  is 
going  to  Arrow  Junction  we  may  have  a  chance 
of  learning  more  about  him  out  there.  Did  he 
expect  to  stay  at  the  Junction?" 


192 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 


"I  think  so — or  at  least  in  that  vicinity.  The 
whole  crowd  is  bound  for  some  ranch  out  there." 

"Then  if  we  learn  anything  of  importance 
against  the  fellow  we  can  have  the  local  authori- 
ties make  an  investigation,"  said  Jack. 

"Gosh !  wouldn't  it  be  queer  if  that  fellow  really 
had  robbed  Colby  Hall  and  if  Brassy  was  mixed 
up  in  it?"  remarked  Randy. 

"It  would  be  terrible  if  Brassy  was  guilty,"  an- 
swered Jack.  "It  would  just  about  ruin  him  for- 
ever." 

"Come  on,  Jack.  Suppose  you  and  I  walk  back 
and  see  if  we  can  locate  the  fellows,"  suggested 
Fred.  "They  don't  know  us,  so  they  won't  be 
suspicious." 

"Well,  we  might  try  it,"  was  the  young  major's 
reply. 

And  thereupon  he  and  his  cousin  walked 
through  the  cars  to  the  place  where  the  twins 
said  Bud  Haddon  and  his  two  companions  were 
seated. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

IN   THE   SADDLE 

THE  two  boys  located  the  three  men  without 
any  trouble.  They  were  seated  near  the  end  of 
the  car  where  there  was  a  water  cooler,  and  here 
the  two  lads  stopped  to  fumble  for  a  minute  or 
two  over  the  paper  drinking  cups  and  then  to  take 
their  time  getting  a  drink. 

"Yes,  we  ought  to  make  a  lot  of  money  on 
that  deal,  Noxley,"  they  heard  Bud  Haddon  say. 
"That  is,  provided  we  mind  what  we're  doin'." 

"Oh,  there'll  be  no  trip-up  this  time,"  answered 
the  man  called  Noxley. 

"I've  been  wonderin'  how  many  horses  there 
would  be  that  we  could  sell,"  put  in  the  third  man 
of  the  group. 

"I  heard  we  could  get  at  least  twenty,  Jenks. 
Of  course,  I  can't  tell  exactly  until  I've  looked 
over  the  ground." 

"Well,  twenty  head  of  horses  and  two  hundred 
head  of  cattle  are  not  to  be  sneezed  at,"  answered 

193 


J94    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

the  man  called  Jenks.  "A  fine  piece  of  business, 
I'll  say,"  and  he  laughed  shrewdly. 

"How  long  do  you  expect  to  stay  at  Arrow 
Junction  before  you  go  out  to  Bimbel's  Ranch?" 
questioned  Noxley. 

"Not  more  'n  three  or  four  days.  I'm  expectin* 
word  from  Bimbel  as  soon  as  I  reach  the  Junc- 
tion, and  then  I'll  know  just  what  he  wants  us 
to  do." 

"One  thing  I  want  understood,"  went  on  Jenks 
crossly.  "This  time  I  get  all  that's  comin'  to  me 
— no  holdin'  back !" 

"And  I  want  the  same,  remember  that,"  put  in 
Noxley  sourly. 

"You'll  get  your  full  share — no  fear  of  that," 
said  Haddon  reassuringly.  "Only  remember, 
you've  got  to  do  your  full  share  of  the  work,  too. 
No  shirkin'  at  the  last  minute!" 

"Well,  we  don't  want  to  be  takin'  too  many 
chances,"  and  Jenks  shook  his  uncombed  head 
dubiously. 

"You've  got  to  take  chances  in  this  game, 
Jenks.  You  can't  expect  the  hens  to  lay  eggs 
right  in  your  hands,"  and  Haddon  chuckled  at  his 
little  joke. 

After  that  the  men  talked  about  a  good  time 
they  had  had  in  Albany  the  evening  before.  They 
said  nothing  further  of  what  they  expected  to  do 


IN    THE    SADDLE  195 

in  the  West  nor  did  Haddon  mention  Haven 
Point  or  Brassy  Bangs. 

"We  might  as  well  go  back,"  whispered  Jack 
to  Fred,  after  they  had  remained  as  long  at  the 
water  cooler  as  they  dared.  The  men  had  glanced 
at  them  carelessly,  but  had  evidently  given  them 
scant  attention. 

When  the  two  lads  returned  to  the  others  they 
held  a  consultation,  and  then  laid  the  whole  case 
before  Fred's  father.  Sam  Rover  listened  with 
interest,  and  his  face  became  a  study. 

"It  is  just  possible  that  your  guess  may  be  cor- 
rect and  this  fellow  Haddon  may  be  guilty  of 
robbing  Colby  Hall.  But  it  would  be  sheer  fool- 
ishness to  accuse  the  fellow  unless  you  had  suf- 
ficient evidence  against  him.  This  talk  about 
horses  and  cattle  may  be  a  perfectly  legitimate 
affair.  However,  when  we  get  to  the  ranch  we 
can  look  into  the  matter  further  and  find  out  what 
sort  of  place  this  Bimbel's  ranch  is  and  what  the 
men  really  intend  to  do  while  there.  That  may 
give  us  a  better  line  on  this  Bud  Haddon  and  the 
others." 

"I'm  going  to  watch  that  crowd  as  long  as  they 
travel  with  us,"  said  Jack,  and  the  other  lads 
said  they  would  do  the  same. 

A  night  was  spent  on  the  train,  all  the  boys 
sleeping  soundly,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  fore- 


196    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

noon  they  rolled  into  the  great  station  at  Chicago. 
Here  the  lads  kept  their  eyes  wide  open  and  saw 
Haddon  and  his  two  companions  walk  away, 
dresssuit-cases  in  hand.  Nor  did  they  reappear 
when  the  Rovers,  an  hour  later,  hurried  for  the 
train  which  was  to  take  them  further  westward. 
Evidently  the  three  men  were  going  to  take  some 
other  train  to  Montana. 

"Here  they  are !  We've  been  waiting  for  you 
folks !"  came  the  cry,  and  Spouter  rushed  up  to 
the  Rovers,  followed  by  Gif. 

"Ho  for  the  glorious  West!"  put  in  Gif. 
"Aren't  you  fellows  anxious  to  get  there?"  he 
questioned. 

"Anxious  doesn't  express  it !"  answered  Andy. 
"Why,  all  night  long  I  was  riding  broncos  and 
lassoing  wild  cattle!"  and  he  grinned. 

Sleeping-car  accommodations  had  been  reserved 
for  all  of  the  crowd,  and  they  were  soon  making 
themselves  at  home.  Then,  as  the  train  sped  west- 
ward, the  Rovers  told  their  chums  about  Bud 
Haddon. 

"That  certainly  is  interesting,"  said  Gif.  "Just 
the  same,  I  can't  think  that  Brassy  Bangs  is  a 
thief.  Why,  if  you'll  remember,  he  said  he  had 
been  robbed  himself!" 

"He  might  have  said  that  just  to  throw  dust 
in  the  eyes  of  the  public,"  answered  Spouter. 


IN   THE   SADDLE  197 

"To  my  mind  it  will  certainly  be  a  good  thing 
to  keep  our  eyes  open  for  this  fellow  Haddon." 

The  trip  to  Montana  took  the  best  part  of 
three  days,  and  every  one  in  the  party  enjoyed 
the  journey  thoroughly.  They  often  went  out 
to  the  observation  end  of  the  train,  there  to  view 
the  endless  panorama  of  prairies  and  mountains, 
forests  and  streams,  as  they  sped  swiftly  past. 
The  magnificent  view  impressed  Spouter  as  much 
as  anybody. 

"It's  sublime — stupendously  sublime,"  he  mur- 
mured over  and  over  again.  "The  thoughts  that 
well  up  in  my  bosom  at  such  a  sight  as  this  are 
beyond  the  power  of  words  to  express.  When  I 
view  these  immense  plains,  these  mountain  tops 
fading  away  in  the  distance,  these  wild  and  weird 
torrents  rushing  over  the  rocks,  and  these  track- 
less forests  with  often  not  a  human  abode  in 
sight,  I  cannot  but  think " 

"That  there  is  room  here  for  every  man,  woman 
and  child  in  the  city  of  New  York  and  then 
some,"  finished  Andy.  "Gee,  how  can  they  stick 
in  one  or  two  miserable  cubby-holes  of  rooms 
when  we  have  all  this  land  to  draw  on!" 

"That's  what  gets  me,"  put  in  Gif.  "But  they 
do  it.  And  I'm  told  that  a  whole  lot  of  'em  would 
rather  die  huddled  together  than  live  out  here 
where  neighbors  are  miles  apart." 


198    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

The  through  train  took  them  only  as  far  as 
Arrow  Junction.  Here  they  alighted  and  then 
boarded  a  little  side  line,  running  through  the 
hills  to  a  dozen  small  stations,  including  Four 
Rocks. 

"This  isn't  so  nice,"  sighed  Martha,  when  all 
had  piled  into  one  of  the  two  little  cars  which 
comprised  the  train.  Their  baggage  had  been 
put  in  the  other  car,  which  was  a  combination 
baggage  and  smoking  car.  There  were  but  a  few 
other  passengers  in  the  car,  including  one  fat 
woman  with  two  small  and  exceedingly  dirty  chil- 
dren. There  were  also  several  cowboys,  and  a 
Chinaman  who  looked  as  if  he  might  be  a  cook. 

"I  think  dad  has  a  Chink  at  our  ranch,"  said 
Spouter.  "Anyway,  he  wrote  he  thought  he'd  hire 
one." 

They  had  telegraphed  ahead,  so  that  there 
might  be  some  one  to  meet  them  when  they  ar- 
rived at  Four  Rocks. 

"It's  certainly  an  odd  name  for  a  railroad  sta- 
tion," remarked  Mrs.  Rover  to  her  husband. 

"Four  Rocks  sounds  substantial  enough,"  he 
returned,  with  a  smile. 

"Is  it  much  of  a  town?" 

"Not  likely  to  be  any  town  at  all.  Perhaps 
a  little  railroad  station  and  possibly  one  store, 
which,  of  course,  would  also  be  the  post-office." 


IN   THE   SADDLE  199 

Sam  Rover's  idea  of  Four  Rocks  proved  to  be 
correct.  Situated  near  a  ridge  of  rocks  was  a 
small  railroad  station  with  a  telegraph  office  and 
baggage  room  attached,  a  water  tower,  and  oppo- 
site to  the  station  were  two  low  buildings,  one  a 
general  store  and  the  other  a  place  where  there  had 
once  been  a  saloon  and  dance  hall,  but  which  was 
now  closed  up. 

"There's  my  dad  now !"  cried  Spouter  excitedly, 
as  he  leaped  off  the  train.  And  the  next  minute 
he  was  running  towards  an  automobile  in  which 
ant  his  parent.  "Where  is  ma?"  he  demanded. 

"She  remained  at  the  house  to  see  that  every- 
thing was  in  readiness  when  you  got  there,"  an- 
swered Songbird  Powell,  as  he  shook  hands  with 
his  son. 

Close  to  the  automobile  stood  a  number  of 
horses,  all  saddled.  On  one  sat  a  bronzed  cow- 
boy, who  grinned  broadly  at  the  boys  and  tipped 
his  hat  rather  awkwardly  to  Mrs.  Rover  and  the 
girls. 

"This  is  my  foreman,  Joe  Jackson,"  said  Song- 
bird Powell.  "Joe,  this  is  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rover, 
and  these  are  the  Rover  boys  and  their  sisters, 
and  this  is  my  son  and  another  of  his  chums.  I 
guess  you'll  get  better  acquainted  a  little  later  on," 
and  he  smiled  broadly. 

"Who's   to    ride    on   horseback?"    questioned 


200    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

Andy  quickly.  "We  can't  all  get  into  that 
machine." 

"You  boys  can  all  ride  with  Joe,"  answered 
Spouter's  father.  "I  thought  you'd  rather  do 
that  than  anything  else.  The  girls  and  the  others 
can  ride  with  me." 

"How  do  you  know  I  don't  want  to  ride  on 
horseback,  Uncle  John?"  cried  Martha  gayly. 
She  often  called  this  intimate  chum  of  her  father 
"uncle." 

"No,  Martha,  you'd  better  ride  with  us  now," 
put  in  Mrs.  Rover  hastily.  "You  can  do  your 
horseback  riding  later  on." 

"Oh,  I  was  only  fooling,  Aunt  Grace,"  the  girl 
replied. 

"I'm  just  crazy  to  see  Big  Horn  Ranch,  Uncle 
John,"  came  from  Mary. 

"Well,  I  hope  you'll  like  it,"  returned  Songbird 
Powell.  "I  want  every  one  of  you  to  have  the 
best  times  ever  while  you're  here."  His  eyes 
glistened.  "We  ought  to  have  a  regular  old- 
fashioned  reunion."  And  then,  unable  to  control 
himself,  he  broke  out  into  a  bit  of  his  old-time 
doggerel. 

"I'm  glad  you're  here. 
I  hope  you'll  stay. 
I'll  miss  you  much 
When  you're  away." 


IN    THE    SADDLE  2OI 

"Hurrah,  Songbird,  that  certainly  sounds  nat- 
ural!" cried  Sam  Rover,  slapping  his  old  chum 
on  the  shoulder.  "You'll  have  to  give  us  more 
of  that  later  on." 

"I  haven't  spent  much  time  on  verses  the  last 
few  years,  Sam,"  answered  Songbird.  "I've  been 
too  busy  attending  to  business.  But  maybe  I'll 
get  back  to  it  while  loafing  around  the  ranch," 
he  added. 

"Are  any  other  people  coming  to  the  ranch?" 

"Yes,  one  other  person.  And  I  think  you'll 
be  very  much  surprised  to  see  him." 

"Who  is  that?" 

"Oh,  you  had  better  wait  until  he  arrives," 
returned  Songbird  Powell,  and  began  to  grin  as 
though  the  thought  of  what  was  coming  pleased 
him. 

The  older  persons  and  the  girls  waited  until 
all  the  boys  were  safely  in  the  saddle,  and  then 
Songbird  Powell  started  the  automobile. 

"I'm  leaving  them  in  your  care,  Joe,"  he  called 
back  to  his  foreman,  as  he  moved  along. 
"Bring  'em  to  the  ranch  in  safety." 

"Trust  me,"  called  out  the  foreman  promptly. 
"We'll  be  at  the  ranch  almost  as  soon  as  you." 

"Well,  don't  ride  the  horses  to  death,"  shouted 
back  Songbird.  And  then  in  a  few  minutes  more 
the  automobile  disappeared  in  the  distance. 


202    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"The  boys  will  certainly  enjoy  that  horseback 
riding,"  said  Mary. 

"Glad  of  it,"  answered  Songbird  Powell,  and 
as  the  automobile  rolled  onward  he  murmured 
gaily: 

"An  elephant  sat  on  a  bamboo  tree 
And  he  was  as  happy  as  he  could  be. 
'To  travel,'  said  he,  'is  awfully  punk 
Unless  you  remember  to  take  your  trunk !' ' 

"Oh,  what  a  funny  rhyme !"  giggled  Martha. 

"I'll  have  to  write  that  down  in  my  scrap 
book,"  returned  her  cousin,  and  at  this  remark 
Spouter's  father  looked  real  pleased. 

"Hurrah  for  Big  Horn  Ranch!"  shouted 
Randy,  waving  his  cap.  "Come  on  if  you're 
ready." 

"Don't  \vork  your  horses  too  hard  at  the  start," 
cautioned  Joe  Jackson.  "It's  a  good  five  miles 
to  the  ranch,  and  part  of  it  is  rather  tough  climb- 
ing." 

"If  it's  tough  climbing  how  is  the  automobile 
going  to  get  there?"  questioned  Jack  quickly. 

"Oh,  they'll  go  around  by  the  river  road.  But 
that  is  eight  miles  longer.  We'll  take  the  hills." 

"Then  maybe  we  can  get  there  first  after  all !" 
broke  in  Fred. 

"Well,   we  can  try,   anyhow,"   answered   the 


"OFF  TO  THE  EASTWARD  YOU  CAN  SEE  A  BIT  OF  OUR 

RANGE." 
The  Rover  Boys  at  Big  Horn  Ranch.  Page  205 


IN    THE    SADDLE 


203 


foreman  of  the  ranch.  "Do  all  of  you  boys  know 
how  to  ride?" 

"Sure  we  do!" 

"Then  forward  it  is!"  And  away  rode  the 
foreman  with  Jack  and  Spouter  on  either  side  of 
him  and  the  others  following  close  behind, 


CHAPTER  XX 

AT   BIG    HORN   RANCH 

THE  way  lay  along  a  flat  stretch  of  prairie 
bordering  the  river,  and  then  up  into  the  hills. 
The  brushwood  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
was  scanty,  but  in  the  distance  they  could  see 
some  scrub  timber  backed  up  by  a  stretch  of 
forest.  Far  to  the  westward  they  could  see  the 
distant  mountains  over  which  the  sun  was  now 
setting. 

"Come  on,  you  fellows,  come  on!  Don't  lag 
behind!"  shouted  Spouter,  and  set  off  at  a  brisk 
pace  along  the  well-defined  trail  leading  to  the 
ranch. 

Joe  Jackson,  having  seen  that  all  of  them  could 
ride  well,  was  quite  willing  to  let  them  set  their 
own  pace. 

"Only  look  and  see  where  you're  going!"  he 
shouted.  "And  remember  at  the  split  in  the  trail 
to  take  the  one  on  the  right."  And  then  he  al- 
lowed them  to  plunge  on  ahead,  but  kept  his  eyes 
on  everything  they  were  doing. 

204 


AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH  20$ 

Two  miles  from  the  station  the  boys  found 
they  had  quite  a  climb,  and  here  they  were  forced 
to  slow  down.  A  little  later  they  reached  the  top 
of  the  first  hilL 

"There  off  to  the  eastward  you  can  see  a  bit 
of  our  range,"  said  the  ranch  foreman,  pointing 
with  his  finger.  "And  those  cattle  yonder  are  our 
cattle." 

By  the  time  they  reached  the  foot  of  the  first 
hill  the  sun  was  setting  beyond  the  mountains  in 
the  west  and  the  long  shadows  were  creeping 
across  the  trail  and  over  the  forest  beyond. 

"This  must  be  some  dark  trail  at  night,"  re- 
marked Jack. 

"Dark  as  a  tunnel,"  answered  Joe  Jackson. 
"You  have  to  carry  a  lantern  or  a  flashlight  when 
you  try  to  ride  it  after  dark." 

"Ever  get  held  up?"  questioned  Fred  curiously. 

"Nary  a  hold-up,  lad,"  answered  the  foreman,, 
with  a  grin.  "We  leave  all  that  to  the  movie 
men." 

"Did  you  ever  have  a  moving  picture  company 
out  here?"  asked  Gif. 

"Yes,  we  had  one  crowd  out  here  last  year. 
They  stayed  around  about  six  weeks  taking  some 
sort  of  a  drama,  as  they  called  it.  It  was  funny," 
added  the  foreman,  with  a  chuckle.  "The  leading 
lady  was  scared  to  death  of  horses,  and  yet  she 


206    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

had  to  do  a  little  riding.  The  man  who  was  hav- 
ing the  pictures  taken  wanted  her  to  smile  while 
she  was  cantering  along.  But  that  smile,  believe 
me,  wasn't  anything  to  brag  about.  They  ought 
to  have  brought  along  some  leading  lady  who 
liked  horses  and  knew  all  about  'em." 

"Did  they  use  any  of  your  outfit?" 

"Oh,  they  used  a  few  of  our  cowboys  in  a 
round-up.  They  wanted  me  to  go  into  some  of 
the  pictures,  but  I  told  'em  there  was  nothing 
doing — that  I  was  here  to  manage  the  ranch  and 
not  make  moving  pictures." 

"How  many  men  on  the  place  ?"  asked  Randy. 

"We  have  six  at  present.  But  the  boss  is  think- 
ing of  getting  some  more  and  increasing  the 
herd." 

"Did  dad  get  his  Chinese  cook?"  questioned 
Spouter. 

"Yes.  He's  got  a  Chink  named  Hop  Lung;  a 
pretty  good  sort  of  a  chap,  too." 

They  crossed  two  more  hills  and  then  passed 
through  a  patch  of  tall  timber.  Here  there  was  a 
rough  wagon  road,  and  the  foreman  explained 
that  it  was  used  for  hauling  firewood  to  the 
ranch  house  and  the  bunkhouse. 

It  was  growing  dark  when  the  party  on  horse- 
back approached  the  ranch.  Already  lights  were 
streaming  from  the  windows  and  the  automobile 


AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH  207 

stood  in  front  of  the  wide  veranda  which  ran 
around  two  sides  of  the  building. 

"They  got  here  ahead  of  us,"  announced  Jack. 

"I  thought  they  would,"  answered  the  fore- 
man. "The  river  road  is  in  pretty  good  shape 
just  now,  so  I  suppose!  the  boss  made  fast  time 
in  driving  over." 

"The  trail  to  the  ranch  was  rougher  than  I  ex- 
pected," put  in  Andy.  "If  you  tried  to  run  a 
horse  over  it  he  would  most  likely  break  a  leg 
and  maybe  you  would  break  your  neck." 

"I've  known  one  of  our  boys  to  go  over  to  the 
station  inside  of  twenty  minutes,"  returned  the 
foreman.  "But  he  only  did  it  to  catch  a  train  and 
on  a  bet.  I'd  rather  take  my  time  and  save  my 
horseflesh." 

When  they  reached  the  ranch  Mrs.  Powell  came 
out  on  the  veranda  to  greet  her  son  and  his 
chums.  She  was  a  round-faced,  motherly  woman, 
and  she  immediately  did  all  she  could  to  make 
the  young  folks  feel  at  home. 

"You  must  be  thoroughly  tired  out  from  your 
long  trip,"  said  she.  "So  we  will  have  supper 
right  away,  and  then  if  any  of  you  want  to  go  to 
bed  you  can  do  so." 

"I  can't  say  that  I'm  tired,"  answered  Jack. 
"But  I  suppose  the  girls  are  and  maybe  Aunt 
Grace  is,  too." 


208    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

The  travelers  were  shown  to  some  rooms  and 
then  told  where  they  could  wash  up  if  they  so 
desired. 

"Supper  will  be  ready  in  ten  minutes,"  an- 
nounced Mrs.  Powell.  "So  don't  take  too  much 
time  in  primping  up,"  she  added,  with  a  smile  to 
the  girls.  "Remember,  you  are  on  a  ranch  now 
and  you  can  dress  exactly  as  you  please." 

"I'm  going  to  slip  on  a  plain  gingham  right 
now,"  declared  Martha. 

Their  hand  baggage  had  been  brought  along 
on  the  running-board  of  the  touring  car,  and  a 
little  later  one  of  the  cowboys  came  in  with  their 
trunks,  which  had  been  brought  over  from  the  sta- 
tion in  a  wagon.  In  the  meanwhile  the  crowd  sat 
down  to  a  somewhat  elaborate  supper  which  Hop 
Lung  had  prepared  under  Mrs.  Powell's  super- 
vision. 

"He's  a  very  good  cook,"  the  lady  of  the  ranch 
confided  to  Mrs.  Rover.  "But  he  occasionally 
tries  to  turn  out  some  very  funny  concoctions, 
so  that  I  find  it  advisable  to  keep  my  eyes  on 
him." 

"The  cowboys  are  quite  excited  over  the  idea 
of  having  visitors  here  all  summer,"  said  Song- 
bird Powell  during  the  course  of  the  meal.  "And 
two  or  three  of  them  are  especially  excited  over 
the  fact  that  there  are  going  to  be  so  many  girls 


AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH  209 

and  ladies.  You  see,  the  brothers  who  used  to 
own  these  combined  ranches  weren't  married,  and 
all  they  had  around  the  houses  were  an  Indian 
woman  and  a  real  old  Dutch  woman  who  was 
almost  entirely  deaf. 

"Joe  Jackson  told  me  that  one  of  the  cowboys, 
a  fellow  named  Hank  Minno,  was  very  bashful 
and  had  almost  been  on  the  point  of  giving  up 
his  job  when  he  heard  so  many  skirts  were  com- 
ing here." 

"Oh,  dear,  I  think  I'd  like  to  make  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Mr.  Hank,"  said  Martha  mischiev- 
ously. 

"Perhaps  if  he  saw  you  coming  he'd  run  away," 
returned  Mary. 

"Oh,  I  think  he'll  get  over  his  bashfulness,  and 
so  will  some  of  the  others,"  answered  Songbird 
Powell.  "And  let  me  tell  you  one  thing — when 
I  first  got  here  I  thought  the  men  were  a  pretty 
rough  crowd,  but  the  more  I  get  to  know  them, 
the  more  I'm  satisfied  they're  all  right  at  heart." 

"Your  foreman  certainly  seems  to  be  a  fine  fel- 
low," said  Jack.  "We  got  well  acquainted  with 
him  riding  over." 

"He  was  well  recommended  by  the  former  own- 
ers of  the  ranch,  Jack.  And  so  far  I've  had  no 
occasion  to  find  any  fault  with  him.  He  seems 
thoroughly  trustworthy." 


The  Powells  had  given  their  visitors  their  choice 
of  what  to  do  concerning  rooms.  They  could 
either  crowd  themselves  a  little  and  remain  in  the 
one  ranch  house,  or  otherwise  the  boys  could  take 
rooms  in  the  other  house,  which  was  located  about 
two  hundred  yards  away. 

"If  we  went  over  to  the  other  place  we  could 
have  things  all  our  own  way,"  whispered  Andy 
to  his  brother  and  Fred.  "We  could  come  and  go 
to  suit  ourselves." 

"I  think  you  boys  had  better  stay  in  this  house 
with  us,"  said  Mrs.  Rover.  "Then  we  can  keep 
an  eye  on  you." 

"But  there  is  no  sense  in  all  of  us  being 
crowded,"  returned  Sam  Rover.  "And  the  boys 
are  certainly  old  enough  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves. I  think  we  had  better  let  this  matter  rest 
until  to-morrow,  and  then  we  can  see  how  we  can 
arrange  it." 

"If  the  boys  go  over  to  the  other  ranch  house 
I'll  have  Joe  Jackson  stay  there  with  them,"  said 
Songbird.  "He'll  know  how  to  make  them  line 
up  if  anything  goes  wrong." 

Several  days  later  it  was  arranged  for  all  the 
boys  to  take  their  belongings  and  settle  down  in 
the  other  ranch  house  so  far  as  rooming  was  con- 
cerned. They  were  to  have  their  meals  in  the 
main  house.  The  foreman  of  the  ranch  went 


AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH  2II 

with  them,  taking  a  room  in  a  corner  where  he 
could  watch  what  was  going  on  if  it  became  neces- 
sary to  do  so.  The  boys  took  three  connecting 
rooms,  the  twins  occupying  one,  Jack  and  Fred 
another,  and  Spouter  and  Gif  the  third. 

On  the  second  day  at  the  ranch  the  boys  began 
to  feel  quite  at  home.  Accompanied  by  the  men, 
they  had  visited  many  points  of  interest  and  had 
become  acquainted  with  all  the  cowboys,  and  also 
with  Hop  Lung,  the  cook. 

"Wellee  nice  boys,"  remarked  the  cook,  after 
they  had  been  chatting  with  him  and  gone  their 
way.  "Wellee  nice  boys.  Me  cookee  heap  good 
dinner  for  'em."  And  then  he  dived  into  his 
kitchen  to  start  his  preparations  for  the  next 
meal. 

The  boys  found  all  the  cowboys  friendly.  One 
of  them  could  do  some  marvelous  stunts  with  a 
lasso,  and,  urged  by  the  foreman,  gave  an  exhibi- 
tion which  interested  the  lads  exceedingly. 

"Why,  that  fellow  is  as  good  as  anybody  on  the 
vaudeville  stage,"  remarked  Fred.  "I  never 
dreamed  so  much  could  be  done  with  a  rope.  Just 
see  how  he  whirled  it  around  his  body  and  be- 
tween his  legs  and  over  his  head!" 

"Yes,  and  how  he  lassoed  those  three  running 
horses  all  in  a  bunch,"  added  Fred.  "That's  what 
got  me." 


212    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"He  ought  to  be  in  a  Wild  West  Show,"  put  in 
Jack. 

"I'll  have  the  boys  give  you  an  exhibition  of 
shooting  this  evening,"  said  the  foreman,  and  he 
was  as  good  as  his  word. 

Some  of  the  cowboys  proved  to  be  remarkable 
shots  both  with  the  rifle  and  the  pistol.  But  here 
the  boys,  especially  Fred  and  Jack,  felt  at  home, 
and  they,  too,  showed  what  they  could  do. 

"Rattlesnakes  and  tarantulas!"  exclaimed  one 
of  the  cowboys,  Hank  Minno,  the  fellow  who  was 
supposed  to  be  so  bashful.  "You  kids  sure  kin 
shoot  some.  I  s'pose  you  learned  it  at  that  there 
military  school  you've  been  goin'  to." 

"Yes,"  answered  Fred.  "Although  we  some- 
times do  a  little  practicing  when  we're  at  home. 
Down  in  the  long  cellar  of  our  house." 

"Well,  it's  a  good  thing  to  know  how  to  shoot, 
lad.  Sometimes  it  comes  in  mighty  handy  like," 
answered  Hank  Minno. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

HOP    LUNG   AND    THE    FISH 

BY  THE  end  of  the  first  week  all  of  the  boysJ 
felt  thoroughly  at  home  on  Big  Horn  Ranch. 
They  had  visited  many  points  of  interest,  includ- 
ing the  cowboys'  bunkhouse  and  also  the  big1 
range  to  the  eastward,  and  they  had  likewise 
tramped  over  a  number  of  the  hills  and  tried  their 
hand  at  fishing  in  the  river. 

"It  certainly  is  one  dandy  place,"  remarked  Jack 
to  the  others  one  day  when  they  were  coming  up 
to  the  house  from  the  river,  each  with  a  fair-sized 
string  of  fish  to  his  credit. 

"We  certainly  never  had  such  fishing  as  this 
in  the  East,"  answered  Gif,  as  he  looked  at  his 
string  admiringly.  "Just  look  at  the  size  of  'em, 
will  you?" 

"I  wonder  what  Hop  Lung  will  say  when  he 
sees  them,"  remarked  Fred. 

"I've  got  a  scheme!"  cried  Andy.  "Let's  have 
a  little  fun,"  and  thereupon  he  unfolded  to  the 
others  what  he  had  in  mind  to  do.  They  readily 

213 


214 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 


agreed  to  his  suggestion,  and  all  came  up  to  the 
ranch  house  by  a  roundabout  way.  Then  Spouter 
called  out  loudly: 

"Hop  Lung!  Hop  Lung!  Come  out  here  a 
minute !" 

A  moment  later  the  Chinese  cook  appeared,  a 
long  soup  ladle  in  on  one  hand  and  a  carving 
knife  in  the  other. 

"You  callee  me?"  he  queried. 

"Yes,"  answered  Spouter.  "I  want  you  to 
come  around  to  the  front  of  the  house  and  tell 
me  what  you  know  about  this,"  and  he  motioned 
to  the  cook  to  follow  him  around  to  the  big 
veranda. 

No  sooner  had  their  chum  and  the  cook  dis- 
appeared than  the  others  ran  into  the  kitchen. 
Here  at  one  side  was  a  home-made  kitchen  cabi- 
net, the  top  within  a  foot  of  the  ceiling. 

"See  if  you  can  find  the  big  bread-board,"  said 
Randy.  "I  guess  that  will  answer  our  purpose." 

"And  here  is  the  fishing  line,"  added  his  twin. 
"We  can  run  it  from  the  ceiling  over  to  the  win- 
dow and  then  outside." 

The  line  was  run  to  the  window  as  mentioned, 
then  fastened  to  the  ceiling  back  of  the  cabinet, 
and  then  to  the  back  end  of  the  board,  which  was 
placed  flat  on  the  top  of  the  cabinet.  On  the  board 
the  boys  placed  the  fish,  laying  them  out  in  a  row 


HOP   LUNG   AND    THE  FISH  215 

from  front  to  back.    One  fish  was  placed  on  the 
pulled-out  shelf  of  the  lower  part  of  the  cabinet. 

"Now  then,  clear  out  before  Hop  Lung  catches 
us,"  said  Andy.  And  the  lads  lost  no  time  in  dis- 
appearing. 

In  the  meanwhile  Spouter  had  taken  the  Chi- 
nese cook  to  the  front  of  the  ranch  house  and 
then  to  an  out-of-the-way  corner  where  there  was 
a  large  spider's  web. 

"Hello,  he's  gone  now !"  exclaimed  Spouter,  in 
a  tone  of  disappointment.  "Do  you  see  him  any 
where,  Hop  Lung?" 

"Hop  Lung  see  what?"  demanded  the  puzzled 
cook. 

"Why,  that  great  big  blue  and  gold  spider  with 
white  feet!" 

"Blue  an'  gol'  spide  ?"  queried  Hop  Lung.  "See 
black  spide." 

"Oh,  no,  I  don't  mean  the  black  spider.  I  mean 
that  great  big  blue  and  gold  spider  about  that 
long,"  and  Spouter  showed  up  his  two  forefingers 
six  inches  apart. 

"Noee  see  spide  so  long  dat,"  answered  the  Chi- 
nese cook,  shaking  his  head  doubtfully.  "Sploute! 
maybe  see  catpillal." 

"No,  it  wasn't  a  caterpillar.  It  was  a  spider. 
Although  I  think  it  might  have  had  wings." 

"Urn,  wings !    Spide  he  all  the  samee  buttelfly," 


216    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

announced  Hop  Lung.  "No  see  him,"  and  he  got 
down  on  his  hands  and  knees  to  peer  up  into  the 
corner  to  make  certain. 

Spouter  continued  to  engage  his  attention  until 
he  heard  the  boys  coming  around  the  corner  of 
the  house.  Then  he  turned  to  them  as  if  in  sur- 
prise. 

"Hello!  I  thought  you  fellows  were  off  fish- 
ing," he  remarked. 

"So  we  were,"  answered  Gif  calmly. 

"I  got  a  nice  little  fish,  Hop  Lung.  I  laid  him 
in  the  kitchen  for  you,"  remarked  Andy. 

"You  git  only  one  flish?"  queried  the  cook  in 
surprise. 

"Well,  maybe  you  can  catch  more,"  put  in 
Randy. 

"Hop  Lung  no  go  flishee.  Hop  Lung  cookee," 
was  the  calm  reply.  And  then  the  cook  walked 
back  to  the  rear  of  the  ranch  house. 

Watching  their  chance,  the  boys  stole  back,  some 
to  the  window  where  was  located  the  string  which 
had  been  attached  to  the  board  on  the  top  of  the 
cabinet,  and  others  to  another  window  from  which 
they  might  see  what  would  take  place.  Hop  Lung 
had  gone  inside  and  picked  up  the  fish  left  on  the 
cabinet  shelf.  He  looked  it  over,  wiped  off  the 
shelf  carefully,  and  then  took  up  the  fish  and 
disappeared  into  the  pantry  with  it. 


HOP  LUNG   AND    THE   FISH 

"Now  then,  Andy!"  whispered  his  twin.  And 
thereupon  Andy  gave  the  string  in  his  hand  two 
or  three  little  jerks.  From  the  board  on  the  top 
of  the  cabinet  a  fish  fell  down  to  the  shelf  below. 

It  had  hardly  fallen  in  place  when  Hop  Lung 
came  from  the  pantry.  He  looked  to  see  how  mat- 
ters were  going  on  the  stove,  and  then  turned 
again  to  the  cabinet. 

A  queer  look  came  over  his  face  when  he  saw 
the  fish  lying  in  the  same  place  that  the  first  had 
occupied.  He  looked  toward  the  door  to  find  no 
one  there. 

"Him  funny,"  he  murmured  in  his  Pidgin- 
English.  "Him  vellee  funny."  Then  he  took  up 
the  second  fish  and  walked  into  the  pantry  with  it. 

No  sooner  had  he  done  this  than  Andy,  doing 
his  best  to  control  his  laughter,  jiggled  the  string 
again.  This  time,  as  luck  would  have  it,  two 
fish  came  down,  to  light  side  by  side  on  the  cabinet 
shelf. 

Again  Hop  Lung  entered  the  kitchen  and  again 
he  looked  at  what  was  cooking  on  the  stove.  He 
stirred  the  mass  in  one  of  the  pots  carefully,  and 
then  came  back  to  his  cabinet  to  get  some  season- 
ing. 

When  he  saw  the  two  fish  lying  there  his  eyes 
nearly  started  out  of  his  head.  He  jabbered 
something  in  his  native  tongue  and  then  looked 


2l8    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

around  wildly,  first  to  one  side  of  the  kitchen  and 
then  the  other.  Then  he  looked  toward  the  door 
leading  to  the  dining  room  and  then  he  came  to 
the  door  leading  to  the  yard. 

"Duck !"  was  all  Andy  said,  and  he  and  the  oth- 
ers lost  no  time  in  getting  out  of  sight. 

Hop  Lung  looked  carefully  around  the  yard 
and  then  came  slowly  back  into  the  kitchen.  He 
walked  again  to  the  stove  to  see  that  nothing  was 
burning,  and  finally  came  back  to  the  cabinet  and 
picked  up  the  two  fish  gingerly.  Meanwhile,  the 
boys  tiptoed  their  way  back  to  their  original  po- 
sitions at  the  windows. 

"He'll  begin  to  think  the  cabinet  is  haunted," 
whispered  Jack. 

"Either  that,  or  else  he'll  think  he's  bewitched," 
answered  Gif. 

And  both  were  about  right,  for  the  poor  China- 
man looked  all  around  the  cabinet  and  even  be- 
hind and  under  it,  and  then  he  looked  under  the 
table  and  the  chairs.  Finally,  still  bewildered, 
he  walked  into  the  pantry  with  the  fish,  which  he 
carried  before  him  at  arm's  length,  as  if  afraid  it 
might  bite  him. 

"Better  give  him  a  shower  now,  Andy,"  whis- 
pered his  brother,  and  thereupon  Andy  gave  the 
string  a  strong  pull  which  sent  all  the  remaining 
fish  tumbling  down  on  the  cabinet  and  the  floor. 


HOP  LUNG   AND    THE  FISH  219 

The  noise  reached  Hop  Lung  in  the  pantry,  and 
he  came  forth  on  a  run. 

When  he  saw  the  quantity  of  fish  that  had  ap- 
peared so  miraculously  he  was  nearly  dumb- 
founded. With  eyes  and  mouth  wide  open  and 
hands  up-raised  he  uttered  a  sudden  yell  of  fright 
and  dove  through  the  doorway  leading  to  the  din- 
ing room  and  the  living  room  beyond. 

In  the  living  room  Mrs.  Rover  and  Mrs.  Powell 
were  sitting  doing  some  sewing.  The  sudden  ap- 
pearance of  the  Chinaman  caused  them  to  look 
up  in  astonishment. 

"What  is  the  matter,  Hop  Lung?"  demanded 
Mrs.  Powell,  as  she  sprang  to  her  feet. 

"Flishee!  Flishee!"  screamed  the  cook. 
"Kitchen  full  flishee!  Hop  Lung  no  knowee 
where  flishee  come!  One  flishee — two  flishee — 
two  flishee  more — whole  blame  kitchen  flishee!'* 
spluttered  the  cook,  his  eyes  rolling  from  one  side 
to  the  other. 

"Gracious  me!  is  the  man  crazy?"  asked  Mrs. 
Rover,  rising.  "What  does  he  mean  by 
'flishee?'" 

"Flishee !  Flishee !"  repeated  Hop  Lung.  "No 
flishee— all  flishee!" 

"I  can't  imagine  what  he's  driving  at,"  re- 
marked Mrs.  Powell.  "Where  is  the  trouble,  Hop 
Lung?  In  the  kitchen?" 


220    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Les,  Miz  Plowell.    Kitchen  all  flishee!" 

Without  ado  the  lady  of  the  ranch  marched 
into  the  kitchen,  followed  by  Mrs.  Rover.  All 
the  ladies  could  see  were  the  freshly-caught  fish 
resting  on  the  cabinet  shelf  and  the  floor. 

"I  don't  see  anything  the  matter  here  except 
that  some  of  your  fish  are  on  the  floor,"  remarked 
Mrs.  Powell  calmly.  "You  had  better  pick  them 
up  and  wash  them  off." 

"Did  the  boys  catch  those  fish?"  asked  Mrs. 
Rover.  "They  said  they  were  going  fishing  a 
couple  of  hours  ago." 

"Boys  clatchee  one  flishee,"  announced  Hop 
Lung.  Then  a  sudden  idea  entered  his  head,  and 
he  made  a  quick  leap  to  the  yard  door.  He  was 
just  in  time  to  see  the  boys  trying  to  retreat,  all 
laughing  merrily. 

"You  foolee  Hop  Lung!  You  foolee  Hop 
Lung !"  he  shrieked  wildly,  and  of  a  sudden  came 
back  into  the  kitchen,  scooped  up  several  of  the 
fish,  and  ran  outside  again.  Wildly  he  threw  one 
fish  after  another  at  the  lads. 

"Hop  Lung,  stop  that!"  commanded  Mrs. 
Powell  sternly.  "Those  fish  are  too  good  to  throw 
away !" 

"Bloys  fool  Hop  Lung,"  was  the  reply.  "One 
flishee — two  flishee — four  flishee — all  whole  lot 
flishee,"  he  continued,  trying  his  best  to  explain. 


HOP  LUNG  AND   THE  FISH  221 

And  then  by  pantomime  he  showed  how  he  had 
found  the  first  of  the  fish  and  placed  them  in  the 
pantry. 

"It's  nothing  more  than  some  of  their  tricks, 
Hop  Lung,"  said  Mrs.  Powell.  "They  had  no 
right  to  play  such  tricks,  and  I'll  call  them  to  ac- 
count for  it.  But  you  had  better  pick  up  the  fish 
which  you  threw  outside.  They're  too  good  to  be 
thrown  away." 

"Hop  Lung  flix  bloys,  play  flishee  tlick,"  an- 
swered the  Celestial.  And  then  a  little  later  he 
set  about  preparing  supper. 

The  boys  did  not  think  it  wise  to  return  to  the 
house  just  then,  and  so  wandered  off  to  the  stable 
where  the  ranch  horses  were  kept. 

"It  was  certainly  a  rich  joke,"  remarked  Fred, 
with  a  chuckle. 

"I'll  bet  Hop  Lung  will  have  it  in  for  us  for 
that,"  returned  Randy. 

And  Hop  Lung  did  have  it  in  for  them,  as  they 
were  to  learn  in  the  near  future. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

A    HORSE    AND    A    SNAKE 

DURING  the  days  which  followed  at  Big-  Horn 
Ranch  the  Rover  boys  and  their  chums  asked  Joe 
Jackson  if  he  knew  Bud  Haddon  and  the  other 
men  who  had  been  with  him. 

"Yes,  I  know  Haddon,"  answered  the  fore- 
man of  the  ranch.  "He  used  to  work  for  Bimbel 
on  a  ranch  on  the  other  side  of  the  river;  but  I 
think  he  left  there  several  months  ago." 

"Well,  if  he  did,  I  rather  think  he's  going 
back,"  answered  Jack.  "Can  you  tell  us  anything 
about  him?" 

"Oh,  I  imagine  he's  as  good  as  the  average  fel- 
low around  Bimbel's  place,"  answered  Joe  Jack- 
son. "You  see,  none  of  our  crowd  have  much  to 
do  with  that  outfit.  Bimbel  is  a  hard  fellow  to 
get  along  with,  and  some  of  the  men  working  for 
his  outfit  have  rather  shady  characters."  The 
foreman  looked  at  the  boys  curiously.  "How  do 
you  happen  to  know  the  fellow  ?" 

The  lads  had  come  to  like  the  foreman  very 
222 


A    HORSE   AND    A   SNAKE 


223 


much  and  felt  that  they  could  trust  him 
thoroughly,  so  they  told  their  story  in  detail,  to 
which  Jackson  listened  with  interest. 

"Looks  to  me  as  if  Haddon  was  trying  to  black- 
mail that  kid  Bangs,"  was  his  comment.  "That 
is,  unless  there  was  something  in  the  talk  about 
that  barn  being  burned  with  the  horses.  It's  just 
possible  that  fellow  Bangs  had  something  to  do 
with  it  and  Haddon  was  making  him  pay  for 
keeping  his  mouth  shut." 

"Do  you  know  anybody  by  the  name  of  John 
Calder  wrhose  barn  burned  down?" 

"No.  That  couldn't  have  been  anywhere  around 
here  or  I  certainly  would  have  heard  about  it. 
But  there's  one  thing  I  do  know,"  added  the  fore- 
man suddenly.  "There's  a  man  named  Jarley 
Bangs  who  owns  a  ranch  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river — a  small  place  next  to  the  one  run  by  Bim- 
bel." 

"Jarley  Bangs !"  exclaimed  Fred.  "Do  you  sup- 
pose it  could  be  Brassy  Bangs'  father?" 

"I  don't  think  so,"  answered  Gif.  "I  believe 
Bangs'  folks  live  in  Wyoming." 

"But  this  Bangs  may  be  some  relative  of  his," 
put  in  Spouter. 

The  matter  was  talked  over  a  while  longer,  but 
the  boys  could  learn  little  further  from  the  fore- 
man. 


224    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do,"  said  Joe  Jackson  at 
last.  "I'll  put  it  up  to  some  of  the  cowboys. 
They  may  know  more  about  Bimbel  and  his  out- 
fit and  about  Jarley  Bangs  than  I  do.  Bangs  has 
a  reputation  for  being  a  very  queer  and  miserly 
man,  but  that's  about  all  I  can  say  of  him." 

The  boys,  and  even  the  girls,  spent  quite  a  little 
of  their  time  in  the  saddle.  Both  Mary  and 
Martha  had  learned  to  ride  while  at  home,  using 
the  bridle  path  in  Central  Park,  so  they  felt  at 
home  when  galloping  over  the  plains. 

"This  outing  is  going  to  do  Mary  a  world  of 
good,"  confided  Mrs.  Rover  to  Mrs.  Powell.  "She 
has  always  been  so  timid." 

The  river  in  which  the  boys  went  fishing  and 
also  bathing  was  a  broad,  shallow  stream  which 
could  be  forded  in  many  places  with  ease.  So 
far,  however,  the  lads  had  remained  on  their  side 
of  the  watercourse.  But  one  day  Jack  proposed 
that  they  go  off  on  horseback  and  do  a  little  ex- 
ploring on  the  other  side. 

"We  might  ride  past  the  Bimbel  place,  and  also 
the  one  Jarley  Bangs  owns,"  said  he.  "Who 
knows  but  what  we  may  catch  sight  of  Bud  Had- 
don  and  his  crowd." 

"We  don't  want  to  get  into  any  trouble  with 
those  fellows,"  put  in  Fred  quickly. 

"Oh,  they  can't  touch  us!"  exclaimed  Andy. 


A   HORSE  AND   A   SNAKE  22$ 

"They  don't  even  know  us.  And  we've  as  much 
right  to  use  the  trails  around  here  as  anybody — 
the  land  isn't  fenced  in." 

"Yes,  but  you  know  what  Jackson  said,"  went 
on  Fred.  "He  said  the  Bimbel  outfit  wasn't  a 
very  nice  one  and  that  Bangs  was  very  miserly 
and  peculiar.  That  sounds  as  if  both  places  were 
good  ones  to  steer  clear  of." 

"Oh,  come  on!  Let's  go  anyhow,"  put  in 
Spouter.  "I'm  anxious  to  know  what  sort  of 
neighbors  we  have.  They  can't  find  any  fault 
with  us  for  coming  over  when  they  find  out  that 
my  father  owns  this  ranch." 

The  boys  talked  this  matter  over  several  times, 
and  the  next  day  obtained  permission  to  take  the 
horses  and  go  off  for  a  day's  outing  along  the 
river.  They  were  to  take  their  lunch  with  them, 
and  did  not  expect  to  come  back  until  evening. 

"I  wish  we  could  go  along,"  sighed  Martha. 

"We'll  take  you  along  next  time,  Martha,"  an- 
swered her  brother.  "This  time  I'm  afraid  the 
ride  will  be  a  little  too  long  for  you." 

"Never  mind,  Martha  and  I  will  take  a  little 
ride  of  our  own,"  declared  Mary.  "We  can  go 
up  to  the  edge  of  the  woods  and  pick  some  wild 
flowers." 

"Let's  do  it!"  answered  her  cousin  quickly. 
"One  of  the  cowboys  tells  me  there  are  all  sorts 


226    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

of  wild  flowers  up  there  near  one  of  the  springs." 

Hop  Lung  was  told  to  prepare  a  lunch  which 
the  boys  might  take  along  with  them,  and  set  to 
work  immediately.  As  he  got  the  things  ready 
the  Celestial  had  a  faraway  look  in  his  eyes  and 
once  or  twice  he  stuck  out  his  tongue  sugges- 
tively. 

"One  flishee — two  flishee — lot  flishee,"  he  mur- 
mured to  himself.  "Hop  Lung  fixee  boys,"  and 
he  smiled  in  his  own  peculiar  way. 

The  day  dawned  bright  and  clear,  and  immedi- 
ately after  breakfast  the  boys  leaped  into  the  sad- 
dle and  with  good-natured  shouts  swung  the 
sombreros  they  were  wearing,  and  started  off  on 
their  ride.  Each  had  equipped  himself  with  a 
pistol,  although  they  expected  to  do  no  shooting, 
and  several  carried  small  saddlebags  containing 
their  food  and  drink,  the  latter  placed  in  a  couple 
of  thermos  bottles.  They  also  carried  feed  for 
the  horses. 

"Whoop-la!"  shouted  Andy  gaily.  "Come  on, 
fellows!  let's  put  distance  between  ourselves  and 
the  ranch." 

"Better  take  it  a  little  easy  at  the  start,  Andy," 
remonstrated  Gif.  "Remember  we  expect  to  cover 
quite  a  few  miles,  and  we  don't  want  to  wear  out 
the  horses  at  the  start." 

"We'll  let  Spouter  set  the  pace,"  announced 


A   HORSE  AND   A   SNAKE  227 

Jack,  for  he  had  not  forgotten  that  they  were  all 
guests  of  the  lad  mentioned. 

They  had  questioned  the  foreman  regarding 
the  lay  of  the  land,  and  he  had  drawn  up  a  rough 
map  for  them  which  Jack  carried.  Inside  of  half 
an  hour  they  reached  the  fording  place  he  had 
mentioned,  and  there  crossed  the  stream,  coming 
out  on  the  side  of  a  small  hill. 

"I  wonder  if  we'll  come  across  any  wild  ani- 
mals," remarked  Fred,  as  they  pushed  along  a 
well-defined  trail  leading  to  the  top  of  the  hill 
and  through  a  small  patch  of  scrub  timber  further 
westward. 

"From  what  Joe  Jackson  said,  I  don't  think 
there's  very  much  left  in  this  immediate  vicinity," 
answered  Spouter.  "You  see,  the  cowboys  have 
scared  most  of  the  animals  away.  Of  course, 
they  occasionally  come  across  a  bobcat  or  a  moun- 
tain lion,  and  then  we  might  come  across  a  wolf 
or  a  fox  or  some  jackrabbits,  or  even  a  bear." 

"Well,  please  don't  let  'em  come  at  us  in  a 
bunch!"  cried  Randy,  with  a  grin.  "One  at  a 
time,  please." 

"It'll  be  our  luck  not  to  see  a  thing  worth  shoot- 
ing," declared  Fred.  "I  wouldn't  give  five  cents 
for  our  chances  of  bringing  down  anything." 

Fred  had  scarcely  spoken  when  the  horse  Gif 
was  riding  shied  suddenly  to  one  side,  throwing 


228    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

Gif  into  some  low  bushes.  Then  the  horse  gave 
a  snort  and  leaped  ahead  on  the  trail,  not  stopping 
until  he  had  covered  a,  hundred  yards  or  more. 

"Hello!  what's  the  trouble?"  exclaimed  Jack, 
bringing  his  own  steed  to  a  halt.  "Are  you  hurt, 
Gif?" 

"No.  I'm  all  right.  But  what  startled  that 
horse?"  demanded  the  other  lad,  as  he  scrambled 
to  his  feet.  Then  he  gave  a  sudden  yell.  "It's  a 
snake!  Look  out!" 

All  looked  in  the  direction  pointed  out  by  Gif, 
and  there  saw  a  black  object  wriggling  away 
.  through  the  brushwood.  As  quickly  as  they  could 
Jack  and  Spouter,  who  were  close  by,  pulled  out 
their  pistols  and  fired  at  the  snake.  They  saw  the 
reptile  rise  up  in  the  air,  turning  and  twisting,  and 
then  disappear  from  sight  between  the  rocks. 

"What's  up?  What  are  you  shooting  at?" 
cried  Fred,  galloping  to  the  spot. 

"A  snake.  He  scared  Gif's  horse  and  threw 
Gif  into  the  bushes." 

"Where  is  he?" 

"I  guess  he  got  away,  although  I  think  we 
wounded  him,"  answered  Jack. 

"It's  funny  how  that  horse  shied,"  said  Spouter. 
"Maybe  he  stepped  right  on  the  snake." 

"That  might  be,"  put  in  Fred.  "Maybe  the 
snake  was  sunning  himself  and  didn't  notice  our 


A    HORSE   AND   A   SNAKE  229 

approach  until  the  horse  stepped  on  him.  Then  he 
switched  around,  and  that  must  have  started  the 
horse  off.  I  wonder  if  we  can  catch  him." 

"I  think  so,"  answered  Spouter.  "Gosh!  I'm 
glad  no  one  was  bit.  That  snake  looked  to  be  of 
pretty  good  size." 

While  Spouter  and  Jack  hurried  forward  to 
capture  the  runaway  horse,  Gif  was  assisted  to 
the  back  of  the  steed  Randy  rode. 

"I'm  glad  I  didn't  go  out  on  my  head  on  the 
rocks,"  remarked  Gif,  as  the  boys  went  forward. 
"I  might  have  broken  my  neck." 

"Yes,  you  picked  out  just  the  right  place  to 
fall  into,"  answered  Andy. 

"I  didn't  pick  it  out.  I  went  where  I  was  sent," 
returned  the  other  lad  calmly.  "After  this  I'm 
going  to  keep  my  eyes  peeled  for  more  snakes." 

"I  think  we  had  better  all  do  that,"  said  Fred. 
"Gee !  I'd  forgotten  all  about  those  pests." 

When  they  reached  the  runaway  horse  they 
found  him  still  somewhat  skittish.  But  he  was 
soon  calmed  down,  and  then  Gif  remounted  him, 
and  they  set  off  along  the  trail  as  before. 

"Well,  we  didn't  exactly  meet  a  wild  animal," 
remarked  Randy.  "But  we  met  something  just  as 
bad." 

Presently  the  boys  came  to  a  spot  where  the 
river  wound  around  the  hill,  and  beyond  this  was 


230    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

a  broad  stretch  of  plains,  apparently  many  miles 
in  extent.  Far  to  the  southward  they  could  see 
some  tall  timber. 

"The  Bimbel  ranch  must  be  somewhere  in  this 
vicinity,"  declared  Jack. 

"Yes,  and  the  Bangs  place  can't  be  so  very  far 
off,"  returned  Fred. 

But  distances  in  the  open  air  are  deceiving,  and 
the  boys  rode  along  over  the  plains  for  the  best 
part  of  an  hour  before  they  reached  a  spot  where 
the  trail  branched  in  several  directions.  Here 
they  came  to  a  halt,  wondering  which  way  to  turn 
next. 

"It's  too  bad  they  don't  put  up  a  few  sign- 
boards out  here,"  grumbled  Randy.  "How  is  a 
fellow  going  to  know  where  he's  heading?" 

"I  suppose  the  natives  know  these  trails  just 
like  we  know  the  main  streets  of  New  York 
City,"  answered  Jack.  "And  that  being  so,  they 
don't  need  any  signboards." 

Jack  had  consulted  the  rude  map  given  to  him 
by  the  ranch  foreman,  but  this  did  not  seem  to 
have  upon  it  the  forks  of  the  trail. 

"I  suppose  those  cowboys  would  know  at  once 
which  was  the  main  trail  and  which  were  only 
side  trails,"  said  Gif. 

The  boys  were  still  uncertain  which  way  to 
turn  when  Fred  set  up  a  cry  of  amazement. 


A   HORSE  AND   A   SNAKE  231 

"Here  comes  an  auto,  boys!  What  do  you 
know  about  that?" 

"An  auto!"  several  of  them  repeated. 
"Where?" 

The  youngest  Rover  pointed  with  his  finger, 
and  there,  to  the  astonishment  of  every  one  in 
the  party,  they  beheld  a  small  touring  car  com- 
ing across  the  plains  at  a  speed  of  twelve  or  fif- 
teen miles  an  hour.  It  was  running  in  a  curiously 
haphazard  fashion. 

"What  a  way  to  run  an  automobile !"  ejaculated 
Randy. 

"Maybe  the  driver  is  getting  out  of  the  way  of 
holes,"  answered  Jack.  And  then  he  added 
quickly:  "There  isn't  any  driver!" 

Completely  mystified,  the  boys  stared  at  the  on- 
coming automobile.  For  a  moment  it  seemed 
heading  directly  for  them,  but  suddenly  swerved 
and  started  off  across  the  plains  in  another  di- 
rection. 

"It  is  empty !"  ejaculated  Andy.  "It's  running 
by  itself!" 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

JARLEY   BANGS 

"WHAT  do  you  know  about  that!" 

"Who  ever  heard  of  an  automobile  running 
around  by  itself?" 

"It's  gotten  away  from  somebody,"  came  from 
Jack.  "Just  look  at  it  skating  over  the  ground !" 

"Come  on!  Let's  stop  the  blamed  thing!" 
shouted  Andy,  and  started  off  on  horseback  after 
the  runaway  car. 

"You'll  have  a  sweet  job  catching  that  auto/' 
declared  his  twin.  Nevertheless,  he  followed 
Andy,  and,  not  knowing  what  else  to  do,  the  oth- 
ers did  the  same. 

The  automobile  was  of  a  cheap  variety,  and 
clattered  noisily  on  its  way,  with  one  cylinder  oc- 
casionally missing  fire.  It  had  been  running  in 
a  snakelike  course,  but  now  it  seemed  to  be  mak- 
ing something  of  a  circle. 

"By  jinks!  I  think  it's  coming  back  here!" 
exclaimed  Fred  suddenly. 

232 


JARLEY  BANGS  233 

"It  isn't  running  as  fast  as  it  was,"  declared 
Spouter.  "Maybe  it's  going  to  stop." 

"I'm  going  to  see  if  I  can't  get  aboard !"  cried 
Jack,  with  sudden  determination,  and  headed  his 
horse  behind  the  touring  car,  which  was  still  mov- 
ing at  a  fair  rate  of  speed. 

Once  one  of  the  front  wheels  went  down  in  a 
hole,  and  then  the  car  slued  around  and  started 
off,  heading  almost  for  the  boys. 

"Lookout!" 

"Get  out  of  the  way  there  or  you'll  be  run 
down !" 

Wild  cries  rent  the  air,  and  the  young  horse- 
men scattered  in  every  direction.  But  Jack  was 
watching  his  chance,  and  as  the  car  slued  around 
once  more  he  managed  to  leap  from  his  horse  and 
clutch  the  side  of  the  automobile.  Then  he  leaped 
into  the  car  and  turned  off  the  power,  and  in  a 
few  seconds  he  brought  the  automobile  to  a  stand- 
still. 

"This  is  the  queerest  adventure  I  ever  heard 
of,'"'  declared  Gif,  when  the  brief  excitement  had 
come  to  an  end.  "Who  ever  heard  of  meeting  a 
runaway  auto  like  this?" 

"I  guess  we  can  be  thankful  that  we  weren't 
run  down,"  returned  Fred.  "You  took  a  big 
chance,  Jack,  in  jumping  on  board  as  you  did." 

"Oh,  it  wasn't  such  a  risk,"  answered  his  cousin 


234    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

modestly.  "I  think  the  auto  was  getting  ready  to 
stop  anyhow." 

"I  wonder  where  the  owner  is?"  questioned 
Andy. 

"Perhaps  the  auto  struck  a  stone  and  threw  him 
out!"  exclaimed  Spouter  suddenly.  "He  may  be 
lying  along  the  trail  somewhere  stunned  or  dead." 

"I  guess  the  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  see  if 
we  can  locate  the  owner,"  declared  Gif,  after  a 
pause. 

"Come  on,  Spouter.  You  get  in  the  auto  with 
me  and  we'll  run  it  back  in  the  direction  it  came 
from,"  said  Jack.  "The  other  fellows  can  fol- 
low and  bring  our  horses." 

"Do  you  think  you  can  run  this  car?"  ques- 
tioned Spouter. 

"Sure  I  can!  It  isn't  much  different  from  the 
cars  I'm  used  to  even  though  it's  a  cheap  one," 
was  the  reply. 

Spouter  dismounted  and  was  soon  beside  Jack. 
The  power  was  again  turned  on  and  the  car  moved 
on  with  many  a  little  jerk  and  jangling  of  metal- 
ware. 

"It's  next  door  to  a  bit  of  junk,"  remarked 
Jack,  as  they  moved  forward  along  the  trail  at 
a  rate  of  about  fifteen  miles  an  hour.  "I  think 
if  a  fellow  tried  to  make  real  speed  with  it  it 
would  fall  to  pieces." 


JARLEY   BANGS  235 

"Sounds  to  me  as  if  it  needed  oiling,"  ven- 
tured Spouter. 

"Yes,  it  needs  oiling,  and  new  springs,  and  a 
new  engine,  and  a  new  chassis  and  a  few  other 
things,  and  then  it  would  be  quite  a  good  car,'* 
answered  Jack,  with  a  grin. 

The  two  lads  in  the  car  had  covered  less  than 
a  mile,  and  the  others  were  coming  up  behind 
them,  when  they  saw  a  man  running  toward 
them  and  waving  his  arms  wildly. 

"Hi  there!  Stop!"  called  out  the  man.  "Stop, 
I  tell  you!  If  you  don't  stop  I'll  have  the  law 
on  you !" 

As  soon  as  he  saw  the  man  Jack  slowed  up 
and  came  to  a  standstill  by  the  side  of  the  fellow. 
He  was  a  tall,  lean  man  of  about  fifty,  with  a 
strangely  wrinkled  and  sallow  face  and  long, 
drooping,  reddish  mustache.  He  had  a  pair  of 
greenish-brown  eyes  that  seemed  to  bore  the  boys 
through  and  through  as  he  gazed  rather  savagely 
at  them. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  running  off  with  my 
car?"  he  demanded,  as  he  shook  his  fist  at  the 
lads. 

"Is  this  your  car?"  questioned  Jack. 

"You  know  well  enough  it's  my  car!"  blus- 
tered the  man.  "And  I  demand  to  know  what 
you  mean  by  running  away  with  it !" 


236    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"We  didn't  run  away  with  it,"  answered 
Spouter. 

"Yes,  you  did !" 

"We  did  not !"  put  in  Jack.  "We  found  it  back 
there  on  the  plains  running  around  all  by  it- 
self." 

"What?  You  expect  me  to  believe  such  a 
story  as  that?"  exclaimed  the  tall  man,  glaring 
at  them  more  ferociously  than  ever.  "Running 
around  by  itself!  How  could  it  be  doing  that? 
You  took  it  from  where  I  left  it,  up  by  the  trees 
yonder!"  and  he  pointed  to  a  quantity  of  tall  tim- 
ber some  distance  away. 

By  this  time  the  other  boys  were  coming  up, 
bringing  with  them  the  two  unused  horses.  The 
man  gazed  at  them  in  surprise  and  also  noted  the 
two  steeds  that  were  not  being  used. 

"Maybe  you're  telling  the  truth  and  maybe  you 
ain't,"  went  on  the  man  sourly.  "I'd  like  to  git 
at  the  bottom  of  this."  Thereupon  the  boys  re- 
lated what  had  taken  place  and  Spouter  men- 
tioned the  fact  that  his  father  was  the  owner  of 
Big  Horn  Ranch. 

"Oh,  then  you're  Mr.  Powell's  son,  eh?"  cried 
the  man.  "Are  you  the  boy  who  went  to  Colby 
Hall  with  my  nephew,  Lester  Bangs?" 

"Is  Lester  your  nephew?"  queried  Spouter. 
And  as  the  man  nodded  shortly,  he  added :  "Then 


JARLEY  BANGS  237 

you  must  be  Mr.  Jarley  Bangs?"  and  again  the 
man  nodded. 

"I  think  you  ought  to  thank  our  chum  here, 
Jack  Rover,  for  bringing  your  car  back  to  you, 
Mr.  Bangs,"  remarked  Gif.  "If  he  hadn't  jumped 
from  his  horse  into  the  car  the  machine  might  be 
racking  itself  to  pieces  out  on  the  prairie  now. 
It  was  doing  all  sorts  of  stunts  when  he  jumped 
aboard  and  shut  off  the  power." 

"I  can't  understand  this  nohow,"  grumbled 
Jarley  Bangs.  "If  what  you  say  is  true,  how  in 
thunder  did  that  car  git  started?  I  left  it  by  the 
edge  of  the  woods  while  I  went  in  to  look  over 
some  timber  that  we  thought  of  gitting  out  this 
fall.  All  at  once  I  heard  the  engine  go  off  with 
a  bang,  and  when  I  ran  out  of  the  woods  to  see 
what  was  doing  the  car  was  gone." 

"Was  any  one  with  you  ?"  questioned  Spouter. 

"No.  I  came  out  alone.  Lester  wanted  to 
come  along,  but  I  told  him  to  stay  at  the  ranch 
and  do  some  work.  He  seems  to  think  that  all 
he's  out  here  for  is  to  play." 

"Oh,  then  Lester  is  staying  with  you,  is  he?" 
queried  Fred. 

"Yes.  His  folks  let  him  come  up  for  a  couple 
of  months.  Then  he's  going  back  to  his  home  in 
Wyoming,  and  after  that  he's  got  to  return  to  that 
military  school.  I  think  it's  a  fool  notion  to  send 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 


him  to  that  school.  If  I  was  his  father  I'd  make 
him  stay  out  here  and  go  to  work." 

"You  don't  suppose  Lester  tried  to  start  the 
car,  do  you?"  questioned  Andy. 

"How  could  he  if  he  was  at  the  ranch?  But 
wait  a  minute!  He  said  something  about  going 
fishing  in  that  brook  that  flows  through  the  woods. 
Maybe  he  did  come  up  that  way,  after  all." 

"Does  he  know  how  to  run  the  auto  ?"  asked 
Randy. 

"Yes,  he  does.  But  I  don't  let  him  run  it  very 
often  because  he's  so  careless  I'm  afraid  he'll 
ruin  the  machine  —  he  bangs  her  over  the  rocks 
something  awful.  I  ain't  got  no  money  to  waste 
on  a  new  car.  This  has  got  to  do,  even  if  it  is 
kind  of  used  up." 

"Maybe  Brassy  —  I  mean  Lester  —  came  up  and 
tried  to  start  the  car  while  the  gears  were  in 
mesh,"  suggested  Jack;  "and  then  when  the  car 
started  to  run  away  perhaps  he  got  scared  and 
ran  away,  too." 

"If  he  did  anything  like  that  he'll  have  an  ac- 
count to  settle  with  me  !"  exclaimed  Jarley  Bangs, 
his  eyes  glowing  with  anger.  "That  boy  is  get- 
ting too  fresh.  I  said  he  could  come  up  here, 
thinking  he'd  do  some  work  around  the  place 
and  so  earn  the  money  that  I  promised  him  for 
his  schooling.  But  evidently  he  thinks  more  of 


JARLEY   BANGS  239 

having  a  good  time  than  he  does  of  working. 
He  is  forever  fooling  around  the  car  and  wanting 
to  run  it;  so  I  wouldn't  put  it  past  him  to  do 
what  you  suspect.  As  soon  as  I  git  home  I'll 
ketch  him  and  make  him  tell  me  the  truth,"  con- 
tinued Jarley  Bangs,  with  a  determined  shake 
of  his  head. 

After  that  he  questioned  Spouter  concerning 
the  ranch  Mr.  Powell  had  purchased  and  spoke 
of  the  men  who  had  previously  owned  the  place. 

"These  city  fellows  think  they  kin  come  out 
here  and  make  a  fortune  on  a  ranch,"  he  growled. 
"But  after  they've  owned  a  place  a  year  or  two 
they  find  it  ain't  so  easy.  A  man  has  got  to  hustle 
like  all  git-out  to  make  a  living." 

"Where  is  your  ranch  located  ?"  asked  Fred. 

"Our  buildings  are  right  behind  that  patch  of 
timber,"  was  the  reply.  "It's  not  so  very  much 
of  a  place,  but  it's  good  enough  for  me." 

"And  where  is  the  Bimbel  ranch?"  questioned 

Gif. 

"That's  up  to  the  northward,  over  the  top  of 
yonder  hill.  But  you  young  fellows  had  better 
give  Bimbel  a  wide  berth,"  went  on  Jarley  Bangs, 
with  a  shake  of  his  head. 

"Why?"  asked  Spouter. 

"He  don't  like  no  strangers  hanging  around, 
that's  why.  If  a  stranger  comes  up  to  his  door 


240    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

Bimbel  always  reaches  for  his  gun.  He  had 
trouble  years  ago  with  some  tramps,  and  he  never 
got  over  it." 

After  that  Jarley  Bangs  had  but  little  more  to 
say.  The  boys  had  left  the  touring  car,  and  now 
the  man  jumped  inside,  saw  to  it  that  everything 
was  in  order,  and  then  asked  Spouter  to  crank 
up  for  him. 

"Ain't  no  use  to  waste  time  here,"  he  remarked. 
"I've  got  to  git  back  to  what  I  was  doing.  I'll 
tell  Lester  I  saw  you,  and  if  he  wants  to  he  kin 
come  over  to  Big  Horn  Ranch  and  visit — he 
ain't  of  much  account  around  my  place.  And  I'll 
git  at  the  bottom  of  what  happened  to  this  auto, 
too,  even  if  I  have  to  lick  it  out  of  him." 

"I  don't  think  Lester  will  care  to  visit  our 
ranch,"  answered  Spouter  coldly. 

"Well,  I  ain't  got  nothing  to  say  about  that  one 
way  or  the  other.  Now  I'm  off,"  and  with  a  short 
nod  of  his  head  Jarley  Bangs  threw  in  the  gears 
of  his  machine  and  rattled  away,  slowly  gather- 
ing speed  as  he  proceeded. 

"A  kind,  considerate  man,  not!"  exclaimed 
Andy  in  disgust. 

"How  politely  he  thanked  Jack  for  returning 
his  car,"  added  Spouter. 

"And  the  beautiful  invitation  we  got  to  visit 
his  place,"  put  in  Randy. 


JARLEY  BANGS  241 

"I  wonder  if  Brassy  really  started  that  car  on 
him?"  questioned  Fred. 

"It  might  be,"  answered  Gif.  And  then  he 
added:  "Gee,  I'm  sorry  for  Brassy  if  he  has  to 
live  with  such  an  uncle  as  that!  Wouldn't  you 
think  he'd  rather  stay  at  home?" 

"Perhaps  it's  a  case  of  money,"  put  in  Randy. 
"Didn't  you  hear  what  Mr.  Bangs  said  about 
paying  for  tuition  at  Colby  Hall  ?  Brassy's  folks 
may  be  quite  poor,  and  they  may  be  depending 
on  this  uncle  for  financial  aid." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

A    NEW    ARRIVAL 

AFTER  the  disappearance  of  Jarley  Bangs  the 
Rover  boys  and  their  chums  continued  their  trip 
on  horseback. 

"Let's  move  over  the  hill  in  the  direction  of 
the  Bimbel  ranch,"  suggested  Spouter.  "I'd  like 
to  get  a  bird's-eye  view  of  that  outfit." 

"Perhaps  we  had  better  not  go  too  close,"  ad- 
vised Fred.  "Bimbel  may  be  getting  out  a  shot- 
gun for  us." 

"I  guess  it  isn't  as  bad  as  all  that,  Fred.  Those 
things  might  have  happened  years  ago  when  the 
country  was  more  sparsely  settled  and  when  there 
were  more  bad  men  around.  I  don't  take  much 
stock  in  what  Bangs  said.  Probably  he  and  Bim- 
bel have  quarreled.  He  struck  me  as  being  a  man 
who  could  get  into  a  dispute  very  easily." 

"Oh,  I  was  only  fooling,"  answered  Fred.  "I 
wouldn't  be  afraid  to  ride  right  up  to  his  door. 
That  is,  in  the  daytime.  Of  course,  if  we  did  it 
at  night  he  might  become  suspicious." 

242 


A   NEW  ARRIVAL 


243 


"Say,  do  you  fellows  know  that  it's  five  min- 
utes to  twelve?"  questioned  Andy,  after  consult- 
ing his  watch.  "I  move  that  we  keep  our  eyes 
open  for  some,  place  where  we  can  take  it  easy 
and  have  lunch." 

"And  I  second  the  commotion,"  returned  his 
brother,  joking  in  a  way  their  father  had  made 
familiar  to  them. 

The  boys  rode  on  for  half  an  hour  longer,  and 
then  reached  the  top  of  the  hill  they  were  ascend- 
ing. Here  they  could  look  a  long  distance  in  all 
directions. 

"Some  view,  I'll  say,"  declared  Jack,  as  he  sur- 
veyed the  panorama.  "What  a  picture  for  an 
artist  to  paint!"  and  he  pointed  to  the  majestic 
mountains  to  the  westward. 

"Just  look  at  the  river — how  it  glistens  and 
sparkles  in  the  sunshine,"  burst  out  Spouter. 
"See  how  it  winds  in  and  out  like  a  silvery  ribbon 
among  the  hills  and  brushwood  and  then  comes 
out  to  cut  the  broad  and  fertile  prairie  in  the  far 
distance." 

"Spouter,  you'll  have  to  write  an  essay  about 
this  when  you  get  back  to  the  Hall,"  said  Fred, 
with  a  grin. 

"Gee,  don't  mention  school  at  a  time  like  this !" 
burst  out  Andy.  "I  want  to  forget  all  about 
studying  until  it's  absolutely  necessary  to  go  back 


^44    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

to  it.  And  don't  forget  it's  high  time  to  eat," 
he  added. 

They  moved  along  slowly  and  presently  selected 
a  spot  for  their  temporary  camp.  This  was  a  short 
distance  from  the  trail  they  had  been  following. 
It  was  at  the  edge  of  a  patch  of  timber  where 
they  were  sheltered  from  the  rays  of  the  sun 
which  were  now  quite  warm. 

"We'll  be  in  the  shade  here,  and  yet  just  see 
the  view  we'll  have,"  cried  Gif. 

"Suits  me,"  announced  Spouter  promptly;  and 
the  others  agreed  that  the  spot  was  a  first-rate  lo- 
cation. 

It  did  not  take  the  six  chums  long  to  give  the 
horses  their  feed  and  then  to  empty  the  saddle- 
bags and  prepare  their  mid-day  meal.  They  had 
brought  along  chicken  as  well  as  roast-beef  sand- 
wiches, hard  boiled  eggs,  pickles,  and  a  large  cake, 
and  also  a  bag  of  doughnuts  which  Hop  Lung 
had,  learned  to  make  from  Mrs.  Powell  and  of 
which  the  Celestial  was  justly  proud.  They  also 
had  with  them  a  thermos  bottle  of  hot  cocoa  and 
another  of  coffee,  all  fixed  ready  to  drink. 

"Well,  Hop  Lung  certainly  spread  himself  for 
us,"  said  Jack,  as  he  took  up  one  of  the  fat  chicken 
sandwiches  and  surveyed  it  with  satisfaction. 
Then  he  turned  to  the  twins.  "What  are  you  grin- 
ning about  ?"  he  questioned  quickly. 


A   NEW  ARRIVAL  245 

"Oh,  I  was  only  thinking  about  the  trick  we 
played  on  the  Chink,"  chuckled  Andy. 

"And  I  was  thinking  of  the  same  thing,"  put 
in  his  twin. 

"It's  a  wonder  he  didn't  try  to  get  square  with 
us  for  that,"  came  from  Fred.  "An  American 
would  be  sure  to  try  it." 

The  long  ride  in  the  open  air  had  made  all  of 
the  boys  hungry,  and  it  was  not  long  before  they 
had  disposed  of  a  large  part  of  the  sandwiches, 
pickles  and  eggs,  washing  the  meal  down  with 
cocoa  and  coffee  and  also  with  water  from  a  regu- 
lar water  bottle  Spouter  carried. 

"Now  I  guess  it's  about  time  we  passed  around 
some  of  the  cake,"  remarked  Jack,  presently. 

"I  think  I'll  start  on  a  doughnut,"  answered 
Gif. 

The  cake  was  in  a  square  tin  and  had  been  cut 
ready  for  use.  In  a  few  seconds  all  of  the  boys 
were  munching  away  lustily. 

And  then  something  happened!  It  was  Fred 
who  was  the  first  to  notice  that  the  piece  of  cake 
he  was  devouring  had  a  peculiar  puckery  taste. 
He  rolled  some  of  the  cake  around  in  his  mouth, 
and  then  suddenly  ejected  it,  and  just  as  he  did 
this  Andy  dropped  the  doughnut  he  was  devour- 
ing. 

"Oh,  my !    What's  the  matter  with  that  cake  ?" 


246    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Say,  this  doughnut  tastes  like  fire!" 

"Gee,  my  mouth  is  burning  up !" 

"Give  me  some  of  that  water,  quick!  My 
tongue  is  getting  blistered!" 

"What  do  you  suppose  is  in  this  cake,  any- 
how, and  in  the  doughnuts?"  demanded  Jack,  as 
he,  too,  made  a  wry  face  and  stopped  eating. 

"Gracious  me!  do  you  suppose  Hop  Lung  put 
the  wrong  stuff  in  the  cake  and  in  the  dough- 
nuts?" demanded  Spouter  anxiously. 

"Oh,  this  is  awful!"  groaned  Gif.  "I'm  burn- 
ing up  inside!"  And  he  put  both  hands  on  his 
stomach. 

"Maybe  we're  poisoned!"  suggested  Randy. 
He  made  a  wild  dive  for  the  water  bottle,  and 
this  was  passed  around  from  hand  to  hand,  each 
lad  drinking  eagerly  in  an  endeavor  to  wash  the 
burning  taste  from  his  mouth  and  throat. 

"I  know  what's  the  matter,"  said  Jack,  after 
the  most  of  the  excitement  was  over.  "Hop  Lung 
doctored  the  cake  and  the  doughnuts  to  get  square 
with  us  for  the  trick  we  played  on  him." 

"I  wonder  if  that's  so?"  questioned  Andy 
soberly. 

"Sure,  it's  so!"  broke  in  Gif.  "That  Chink 
wasn't  as  slow  as  you  thought,  Andy." 

"Gosh,  my  mouth  burns  yet !"  grumbled  Randy, 
taking  a  drink  of  cocoa.  "That's  the  worst  dose 


A    NEW   ARRIVAL  247 

I  ever  chewed.  What  do  you  suppose  he  put  in 
the  cake?" 

"Tasted  to  me  like  a  combination  of  cayenne 
pepper,  mustard,  and  a  few  things  like  that/'  an- 
swered Jack. 

"Then  the  whole  cake  and  all  the  doughnuts 
must  be  no  good." 

"That's  too  bad !  And  I  had  my  heart  set  on  a 
nice  doughnut,"  answered  Spouter.  "Just  the 
sime,  I  can't  blame  Hop  Lung." 

"Well,  anyway,  let's  be  thankful  the  sandwiches 
are  all  right  and  so  are  the  eggs,"  remarked  Fred. 

"Maybe  some  of  the  sandwiches  that  are  left 
are  doctored,"  put  in  Andy  suspiciously. 

"No.  they  look  all  right,"  announced  Gif,  after 
an  inspection.  "And  he  couldn't  do  much  with 
the  eggs  while  they  were  in  their  shells,"  he 
added. 

While  he  was  speaking,  and  while  some  of  the 
boys  were  still  taking  drinks  of  various  kinds  to 
clear  their  mouths  and  throats  of  that  awful 
burning  taste,  Spouter  made  an  inspection  of  the 
paper  bag  containing  the  doughnuts. 

"Hello !  here's  another  little  bag  at  the  bottom 
of  the  big  one,"  he  cried.  "Let's  see  what  it 
contains." 

He  dumped  out  the  doughnuts  and  drew  forth 
the  smaller  bag.  Opening  this,  the  lads  found  it 


248    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

contained  six  pieces  of  golden  yellow  pound  cake, 
neatly  wrapped  in  tissue  paper. 

"Gee !  is  that  more  of  the  doctored  stuff?"  ques- 
tioned Fred. 

"Maybe.  But  I  don't  think  so,"  answered 
Spouter.  "I  think  Hop  Lung  put  this  in  for  a 
peace  offering,  to  be  found  after  we  had  chewed 
on  that  other  stuff." 

And  in  that  surmise  Spouter  proved  correct. 
The  pound  cake  was  delicious,  and,  having  sam- 
pled it  with  caution  to  find  that  it  was  all  right, 
the  boys  ate  it  to  the  last  crumb  with  great  satis- 
faction. 

"We'd  better  dump  all  that  other  stuff  away," 
said  Fred.  "No  use  of  carrying  it  if  it  isn't  fit 
to  eat." 

"Maybe  some  of  it  is  good,"  returned  Andy. 

"Do  you  want  to  sample  it  and  make  sure?" 
questioned  Jack,  with  a  grin. 

"Not  on  your  life !  I  wouldn't  want  that  burn- 
ing taste  in  my  mouth  again  for  a  hundred  dol- 
lars." 

The  boys  threw  the  highly-seasoned  cake  and 
the  doughnuts  away,  repacked  what  was  left  of 
the  other  food,  and  then  continued  on  their  ride. 
The  trail  led  through  the  patch  of  timber  and  then 
over  some  rather  rough  rocks  and  through  some 
brushwood.  Among  the  rocks  they  found  a  spring 


A   NEW  ARRIVAL  249 

where  the  water  was  clear  and  cold,  and  here 
they  had  a  most  refreshing  drink  and  watered 
their  horses. 

"It's  queer  this  spring  is  away  up  here  on  the 
top  of  the  hill,"  remarked  Spouter.  "That  water 
must  flow  underground  from  the  mountains  yon- 
der." 

"What  a  lot  of  underground  streams  there 
must  be !"  returned  Fred. 

While  moving  along  those  in  the  lead  had  kept 
their  eyes  open  for  more  snakes.  But  no  reptiles 
appeared,  for  which  they  were  thankful. 

"But  I'm  sorry  we  didn't  see  some  sort  of 
wild  animals,"  said  Randy,  in  speaking  of  this. 
"I  thought  sure  we'd  see  a  bear  or  a  deer  or 
something  like  that." 

Even  birds  seemed  to  be  scarce  in  that  vicinity, 
and  the  only  sound  that  broke  the  stillness  as  they 
advanced  was  their  own  voices  and  the  clatter 
of  the  horses'  hoofs  on  the  rocks. 

The  trail  was  a  well-defined  one,  and  they 
could  see  that  it  had  been  used  only  a  short  while 
before. 

"Half  a  dozen  horsemen  have  been  this  way 
within  the  last  few  hours,"  declared  Gif.  "Most 
likely  they  were  on  their  way  to  Bimbel's  ranch." 

"I  wonder  if  that  man  Haddon  has  gotten 
here  yet,"  said  Jack. 


250    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"More  than  likely,"  answered  Fred.  "If  you'll 
remember,  those  men  didn't  expect  to  stay  in  Ar- 
row Junction  very  long." 

"I'd  like  to  know  more  about  that  chap,  and 
know  exactly  how  he's  mixed  up  with  Brassy 
Bangs,"  went  on  the  oldest  of  the  Rover  boys. 

"I  guess  we'd  all  like  to  know  that,"  put  in 
Randy. 

Presently  they  came  to  a  turn  of  the  trail. 
Here  they  could  see  across  a  wide  stretch  of 
prairie  to  where  there  was  a  collection  of  low 
buildings,  seven  or  eight  in  number.  To  the  rear 
of  the  buildings  was  a  corral  for  horses. 

"It  doesn't  look  much  different  from  lots  of 
other  ranches,"  said  Fred. 

"Do  you  want  to  go  any  closer  to  it?"  ques- 
tioned Gif. 

The  boys  talked  the  matter  over,  and  while 
Andy  and  Randy  were  rather  curious  to  get  a 
more  intimate  view  of  the  place,  the  others  de- 
cided that  they  would  not  ride  any  closer  on  this 
trip. 

"It's  now  nearly  two  o'clock,"  said  Spouten 
"And  if  we  want  to  go  any  distance  up  the  river 
it  will  take  us  until  sundown  to  get  back  home." 

They  turned  back,  and  an  hour  or  so  later 
reached  the  point  where  they  had  parted  from 
Jarley  Bangs.  Then  they  took  a  trail  up  the  river 


A   NEW  ARRIVAL  251 

and  followed  this  until  the  sun,  sinking  over  the 
western  mountains,  warned  them  that  it  was  time 
for  them  to  head  for  home. 

"Say,  I've  got  an  idea,"  announced  Andy,  when 
they  came  in  sight  of  the  ranch  house.  "Don't 
let  on  to  anybody  about  that  doctored  cake.  If 
Hop  Lung  or  anybody  else  mentions  it,  just  act 
as  if  nothing  unusual  had  happened.  Say  the 
lunch  was  as  good  as  any  we  ever  had." 

"That's  the  idea!"  returned  his  twin.  "We'll 
keep  that  Chink  guessing."  And  it  may  be  added 
here  that  the  boys  kept  their  word,  and  Hop  Lung 
never  knew  how  his  little  joke  had  terminated, 
although  he  felt  sure  in  his  own  mind  that  they 
had  received  the  full  benefit  of  the  trick  he  had 
played. 

The  six  boys  were  still  some  distance  from  the 
house  when  they  saw  a  man  come  out  on  the 
veranda  and  wave  his  hand  to  them.  At  first 
they  thought  it  might  be  Sam  Rover.  But  then, 
of  a  sudden,  Jack  let  out  a  yell. 

"Boys,  what  do  you  know  about  this !  Do  you 
recognize  that  man  ?" 

"It's  Hans  Mueller!"  ejaculated  Fred. 

"Uncle  Hans!" 

"Who  would  have  thought  he  was  coming  to 
the  ranch?" 

"Hans  Mueller!"  murmured  Andy.     "I'll  be 


252    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

glad  to  see  him.     He's  as  full  of  fua  as  a  stray 
dog  is  of  fleas !" 

Hans  Mueller  was  a  man  who  in  his  boyhood ' 
days  had  been  a  boon  companion  of  the  Rover 
boys'  fathers.  When  he  had  gone  to  Putnam 
Hall  with  the  Rovers  he  had  spoken  very  broken 
English,  and  his  improvement  in  speech  had  been 
slow  and  painful.  But  Hans  had  prospered  in  a 
business  way,  and  was  now  the  sole  proprietor  of 
a  chain  of  delicatessen  stores  in  Chicago.  He 
was  unmarried,  and,  having  no  family  of  his 
own,  had  insisted  upon  it  that  all  of  his  young 
friends  call  him  "uncle." 

"Hello  der,  eferypody!"  called  out  Hans  Muel- 
ler cordially,  as  he  came  down  from  the  veranda 
to  greet  them,  his  fat  face  beaming  genially. 

"How  are  you,  Uncle  Hans  ?"  cried  Jack,  leap- 
ing to  the  ground  and  shaking  hands.  "This  is 
certainly  a  surprise." 

"Yes,  Songpird  tol'  me  you  wouldn't  know  I 
vas  coming,"  was  the  answer.  "How  you  been 
alreatty  ?" 

"Fine  as  silk,"  answered  Andy  gayly.  And 
now  all  the  boys  clustered  around  to  shake  hands. 

"You're  just  the  man  we  want  here  to  hdp  us 
enjoy  our  vacation,"  put  in  Fred. 

"Dot's  nice,  Fred.  I  tink  I  vas  going  to  haf 
a  fine  time  alreatty.  And  I  need  him,"  went  on 


A   NEW   ARRIVAL  253 

Hans  Mueller.  "Since  I  come  from  de  war  back 
from  Europe,  where  I  fights  for  Uncle  Sam,  I 
work  like  a  steam  horse  in  mine  delicatessen 
stores.  But  so  soon  like  Songpird  says  come  out 
here  and  meet  dem  Rovers  and  you  udder  friends, 
I  say  to  my  clerks,  'you  got  to  run  dem  stores  by 
yourself es  alreatty  yet  awhile.  I  go  oud  to  Pig 
Horn  Ranch  and  git  some  fresh  air  mine  lungs 
in.'  " 

"You'll  get  the  fresh  air  all  right  enough,"  an- 
nounced Spouter.  "And  we're  mighty  glad  you're 
here,"  he  added,  and  then  led  the  way  into  the 
house. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

PROFESSOR    DUKE'S    SECRET 

THE  girls  had  already  returned  from  the  woods 
and  met  Uncle  Hans,  as  they  called  him. 

"I  got  somet'ing  by  mine  trunk  in  for  you 
young  ladies,"  said  Hans  Mueller,  with  a  broad 
smile.  And  later  on  when  his  trunk  arrived  he 
presented  each  of  them  with  a  bottle  of  the  high- 
est grade  of  olives.  He  also  had  some  olives  for 
Mrs.  Powell,  for  use  on  the  table. 

"I  import  dem  olives  myself  alreatty  yet,"  he 
vouchsafed.  "Nopody  by  Chicago  has  olives  half 
so  goot." 

"I  knew  you'd  be  surprised  to  see  Uncle  Hans 
here,"  declared  Songbird  Powell.  "And  I  knew 
an  outing  on  the  ranch  would  do  him  a  world  of 
good.  He  has  been  confining  himself  too  closely 
to  business  since  he  got  back  from  the  war." 

"It  was  grand  of  you,  Uncle  Hans,  to  fight  for 
Uncle  Sam,"  declared  Martha. 

"And  vhy,  I  like  to  know?"  demanded  Hans 
Mueller.  "Since  I  come  by  der  United  States 

254 


PROFESSOR  DUKE'S  SECRET  255 

over  I  been  just  such  a  goot  American  like  any- 
pody." 

"That's  the  way  to  talk,  Uncle  Hans!"  cried 
Jack,  and  slapped  him  on  the  shoulder. 

The  next  day  the  young  folks  took  great  pleas- 
ure in  showing  Hans  Mueller  around  the  place. 

"He  vas  chust  like  a  farm,  only  different," 
remarked  the  delicatessen  man.  "Dot  iss  a  nice 
lot  of  cows  you  got,  Songpird.  I  dink  dos  cows 
vould  make  apout  a  million  pounds  of  frankfur- 
ters, not  ?"  and  at  this  remark  there  was  a  general 
laugh. 

A  few  days  later  Jack  noticed  that  Songbird 
Powell  seemed  to  be  worried  over  something. 
The  owner  of  Big  Horn  Ranch  held  an  earnest 
consultation  with  Joe  Jackson,  and  then  the  fore- 
man of  the  ranch  rode  off  in  hot  haste,  accom- 
panied by  two  of  his  cowboys. 

"What's  the  matter — is  something1  wrong?" 
questioned  Jack  of  Spouter. 

"Four  of  our  best  horses  are  missing,"  an- 
swered Spouter.  "The  men  are  not  sure  whether 
they  strayed  away  or  have  been  stolen.  Jackson 
and  the  fellows  with  him  are  going  to  ride  along 
the  river  and  see  if  they  can  find  out." 

"Didn't  you  say  something  about  other  horses 
being  stolen  before  we  got  here?" 

"Yes.     But  they  didn't  belong  to  my  father. 


256    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

They  belonged  to  the  men  who  formerly  owned 
this  ranch.  They  left  them  here,  but  at  their  own 
risk." 

"Were  the  animals  now  missing  the  horses 
we  rode?"  questioned  Fred. 

"No.  They  were  the  mounts  used  by  Jackson 
and  his  men.  That  is,  three  of  the  horses  were. 
The  other  was  that  beautiful  black  my  father  oc- 
casionally rode." 

"You  mean  Blackbird?"  exclaimed  Randy. 

"Yes." 

"Why,  I  think  Blackbird  is  the  finest  horse  on 
the  ranch,"  declared  Gif. 

"He  certainly  is  a  splendid  nag,"  answered 
Spouter.  "And  my  dad  thinks  a  great  deal  of 
him." 

The  horse  in  question  was  a  three-year-old, 
shining  black  in  color,  with  a  peculiar  diamond- 
shaped  spot  of  white  on  his  forehead  and  a  simi- 
lar spot  on  his  chest.  Because  of  these  spots 
some  of  the  cowboys  often  referred  to  him  as 
Two-spot. 

"I  suppose  those  horses  are  worth  some 
money,"  remarked  Fred. 

"Indeed  they  are !"  declared  Spouter.  "I  heard 
my  father  say  he  wouldn't  take  four  hundred  dol- 
lars for  Blackbird.  And  the  other  animals  must 
be  worth  at  least  a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 


PROFESSOR  DUKE'S  SECRET  257 

apiece.  You  know  they  always  had  pretty  good 
horses  on  this  ranch." 

"I  certainly  hope  they  get  some  trace  of  the 
horses,"  said  Jack. 

But  this  hope  was  not  fulfilled.  Jackson  and 
those  with  him  came  back  disappointed,  saying 
that  they  had  found  no  trace  of  the  animals. 

About  a  week  later  came  another  surprise.  The 
young  folks,  including  the  girls,  had  gone  off  to 
the  woods  for  the  best  part  of  the  day,  and  when 
they  returned,  much  to  their  astonishment,  they 
saw  seated  in  rocking  chairs  on  the  veranda  Ruth 
and  May. 

"My  goodness!"  screamed  Mary.  "Ruth  and 
May!  Glory  hallelujah!  How  in  the  world  did 
you  get  here?" 

"And  you  never  let  us  know !"  wailed  Martha, 
as  she  bounced  up  the  steps  to  embrace  her  school 
chums. 

"We  got  started  sooner  than  we  expected,"  an- 
swered May. 

"Did  you  come  alone?"  questioned  Jack,  as 
he,  too,  came  forward,  his  pleasure  showing  on 
his  face. 

"No,  we  didn't  come  alone,"  answered  Ruth. 
"We  came  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rover.  They  are 
inside  with  the  others." 

"My    mother    and    dad!"    burst    out    Andy. 


358    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"Where  are  they?"  And  he  raced  into  the  house, 
followed  by  his  twin. 

There  followed  a  joyous  reunion  all  around. 
Everybody  was  happy  to  see  everybody  else,  and 
for  a  while  it  seemed  as  if  all  were  trying  to  talk 
at  once. 

"We  had  a  splendid  trip  over,"  declared  Mrs. 
Nellie  Rover.  "Not  a  single  hitch  all  along  the 
way.  Tom  had  everything  mapped  out  to  the 
last  detail."  And  she  gave  her  husband  an  af- 
fectionate glance. 

"That's  what  army  discipline  did  for  me,"  an- 
swered Tom  Rover.  "I  didn't  used  to  be  so  par- 
ticular. But  now  I've  got  in  the  habit  of  walk- 
ing a  regular  chalk  mark." 

"Yes,  I've  walked  me  a  chalk  mark,  too,"  put 
in  Hans  Mueller.  "I  run  mine  delicatessen  stores 
chust  like  they  vas  by  army  regulations  alreatty. 
And  it  pays,  belief  me!" 

"It's  a  regular  touch  of  old  times  to  see  you 
around,  Hans,"  said  Tom,  grabbing  his  former 
school  chum  by  both  arms.  "How  is  that  new 
pickling  machine  getting  along?" 

"Vot  pickling  machine  you  mean,  Tom  ?"  ques- 
tioned Hans,  looking  at  him  blankly. 

"Why,  that  machine  you're  going  to  invent 
whereby  you  can  grind  up  old  oilcloth  and  auto- 
mobile tires  and  make  dill  pickles  of  them." 


PROFESSOR  DUKE'S  SECRET  259 

"I  don't  vas  got  no  machine  like  dot,  Tom," 
answered  the  delicatessen  man  in  bewilderment. 
"I  buy  mine  clill  pickles  by  der  barrel.  Dem  dill 
pickles  grows,  you  can't  make  'em  by  no 
machine." 

"Oh!  Then  maybe  it  was  a  new  sourkraut 
stamper,"  went  on  Tom  innocently. 

"Oh,  Tom,  you  vas  joking  chust  like  you  al- 
vays  vas!"  exclaimed  Hans,  a  light  breaking  in 
on  him.  "Veil,  I  don't  care.  You  vas  a  pretty 
goot  fellow  anyhow,"  and  Hans  smiled  as  broadly 
as  ever. 

"It  sure  is  a  touch  of  old  times,"  declared  Song- 
bird Powell.  And  then,  unable  to  restrain  him- 
self, he  burst  out: 

"From  among  the  mountain  tops 
Where  the  brooklet  flows, 
There  I  love  to  linger  long " 

"Counting  up  my  toes," 

jtroke  in  Tom,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  merry  eyes. 
"Counting  up  my  toes!"  snorted  Songbird. 
"Nothing  of  the  kind !  You  always  did  knock  my 
poetry  endways,  Tom.  That  last  line  was  to  read 
like  this : 

"Where  the  sunset  glows." 


260    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

The  young  folks  had  a  grand  time  that  evening 
singing  and  dancing,  and  did  not  retire  until  the 
older  heads  had  hinted  several  times  that  they 
had  better  do  so. 

"Oh,  Jack,  it's  a  splendid  place  to  come  to!" 
said  Ruth,  when  she  was  on  the  point  of  retiring. 
"I  know  I'm  going  to  have  the  best  times  ever." 

"And  to  think  my  Uncle  John  owns  the  place !" 
put  in  May.  "Isn't  it  simply  glorious  ?" 

After  that  the  days  seemed  to  speed  along 
swiftly.  The  boys  and  girls  made  up  various 
parties  up  and  down  the  river,  and  on  the  hills 
and  in  the  woods.  Once  they  got  up  a  grand 
family  picnic,  and  everybody  attended. 

During  those  days  the  boys  often  wondered 
whether  Brassy  Bangs  would  show  himself.  But 
Brassy  kept  out  of  sight,  and  for  the  time  being 
they  heard  nothing  further  concerning  him.  But 
they  did  hear  through  Joe  Jackson  of  Bud  Had- 
don.  That  man  had  been  met  on  the  trail  to  Bim- 
bel's  ranch  in  company  with  several  other  per- 
sons. 

"They  were  a  bum-looking  bunch,"  declared 
Jackson.  "I  wouldn't  give  one  of  'em  house  room 
on  this  ranch." 

"Haddon  certainly  didn't  make  a  very  good 
impression  on  me,"  declared  Jack.  "I'm  frank 
to  admit  I  think  he's  a  thoroughly  bad  egg." 


PROFESSOR  DUKE'S  SECRET  26l 

From  time  to  time  the  boys  had  been  sending 
letters  to  some  of  their  other  school  chums,  and 
a  number  of  letters  had  come  in  return.  One  day 
Gif  received  a  long  communication  from  Fatty 
Hendry  which  he  read  in  wonder. 

"Here's  something  that  will  interest  all  of 
you/'  he  declared,  after  he  had  finished.  "I  guess 
it  clears  up  the  mystery  surrounding  Professor 
Duke." 

"What  is  it?"  questioned  Fred  eagerly. 

"It's  a  letter  from  Fatty  Hendry.  He's  been 
staying  at  a  place  named  Ellenvale,  which,  as  you 
know,  is  about  thirty  miles  north  of  Haven  Point. 
He  says  that  Snopper  Duke  came  from  that  place, 
and  has  an  aged  father  living  there." 

"Has  Duke  been  taking  care  of  his  father?" 
questioned  Jack. 

"Yes.  And  his  father  has  been  very  sick  and 
has  had  to  have  several  operations.  It  seems 
the  operations  cost  a  lot  of  money,  and  Duke 
wanted  two  of  his  younger  brothers  to  help  pay 
for  them.  But  they  wouldn't  contribute  a  cent." 

"Gee,  that  was  certainly  rough!"  declared 
Randy.  "No  wonder  the  professor  was  grouchy 
at  times." 

"That  isn't  all  of  it,"  went  on  Gif.  "Fatty  got 
interested  and  made  a  little  investigation,  and  he 
found  out  that  there  was  another  brother,  a  little 


262    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

older  than  the  professor,  who  had  gotten  into 
difficulties  with  the  firm  he  was  working  for. 
That  firm  was  on  the  point  of  having  him  ar- 
rested, so  Fatty  heard,  but  at  the  last  minute 
Professor  Duke  came  forward  and  settled  up  for 
him,  so  he  wasn't  prosecuted. 

"But  Fatty  adds  in  his  letter  that  he  heard  this 
not  only  took  every  cent  the  professor  had,  but  it 
also  placed  him  in  debt  to  Colonel  Colby  and  some 
of  his  friends." 

"Well,  that's  what  I  call  hard  lines !"  declared 
Jack  emphatically.  "The  poor  professor  must 
have  been  worried  half  to  death." 

"Does  Fatty  say  anything  further  about  Duke's 
father?" 

"Yes.  Since  the  last  operation  the  old  gentle- 
man is  feeling  quite  like  himself  again." 

"And  what  became  of  the  brother  who  got  into 
trouble?"  asked  Spouter. 

"He  disappeared,  and  Fatty  says  there  is  a  re- 
port that  he  went  to  England,  where  the  family 
originally  came  from.  I  suppose  Professor  Duke 
was  glad  to  have  him  go." 

After  this  Gif1  handed  around  the  letter  so  that 
all  might  read  it.  After  its  perusal  Andy  was  the 
first  to  speak. 

"It's  too  bad,"  he  said,  with  a  deep  sigh.  "I'm 
mighty  sorry  now  that  I  didn't  treat  the  professor 


PROFESSOR  DUKE'S  SECRET  263 

with  more  consideration.  That  poor  man  cer- 
tainly had  as  much  of  a  load  as  anybody  to 
carry." 

"We'll  have  to  make  it  up  to  him  when  we  get 
back  to  Colby  Hall,"  declared  Randy.  "I'm  going 
to  show  him.  just  what  I  think  of  him,"  he  went 
on.  "He  certainly  was  a  fine  fellow  to  help  his 
old  father  and  to  get  his  brother  out  of  that  hole." 

The  boys  were  still  discussing  this  matter  when 
they  suddenly  saw  Joe  Jackson  dash  up  to  the 
ranch  house  on  his  horse  and  dismount  in  great 
haste. 

"Hello,  something  is  wrong !"  declared  Jack. 

Songbird  Powell  and  Tom  and  Sam  Rover  had 
seen  the  approach  of  the  foreman,  and  men  and 
boys  ran  out  to  listen  to  what  he  might  have  to 
say. 

"Four  more  horses  are  gone!"  declared  Joe 
Jackson.  "The  best  horses  on  the  ranch!  And, 
boss,  I'm  certain  this  time  that  they  didn't  stray 
away.  They  were  stolen!" 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE    CATTLE    STAMPEDE 

"FouR  more  horses  gone!"  cried  Songbird 
Powell  in  consternation.  "When  did  this  happen, 
Jackson  ?" 

"Less  than  half  an  hour  ago,  over  on  the  three- 
tree  range,"  returned  the  foreman. 

"And  what  makes  you  certain  that  they  were 
stolen  this  time?" 

"Because  the  horses  had  been  left  all  properly 
tethered.  Billy  Brown  and  his  crowd  had  'em, 
and  I  know  Billy  is  a  very  careful  man.  He's 
positive  they  couldn't  have  broken  away." 

"This  is  certainly  getting  to  be  a  serious  mat- 
ter," declared  Sam  Rover.  "Songbird,  if  these 
last  four  horses  were  stolen,  it's  more  than  prob- 
able that  the  first  four  went  the  same  way." 

"Any  clue  to  the  thief  or  thieves  ?"  asked  Tom 
Rover. 

"The  boys  looked  around  and  picked  up  a  quirt 
that  they  say  don't  bdong  to  our  outfit.  But  it's 
a  very  ordinary  quirt  and  might  belong  to  almost 

264 


THE   CATTLE  STAMPEDE  26$ 

anybody.  Of  course,  they  found  a  good  many 
hoof  marks,  but  they  were  so  mixed  up  with  the 
marks  from  the  other  horses  they  couldn't  tell 
one  from  the  other." 

"I'll  ride  over  to  the  place  with  you  and  inves- 
tigate," returned  Songbird  Powell  after  a  mo- 
ment's thought.  "Perhaps  we  can  get  on  the  trail 
of  the  thieves." 

"Can  we  go  along?"  questioned  Spouter 
quickly. 

"No,  Son.  We  want  to  use  the  horses.  And, 
anyway,  I  think  it  would  be  better  for  you  lads 
to  remain  behind." 

Songbird  and  the  foreman  hurried  down  to  the 
horse  corral  accompanied  by  Tom  and  Sam.  And 
thus  the  boys  and  girls,  as  well  as  the  ladies  of 
the  household,  were  left  by  themselves. 

"Gee!  I'd  like  to  go  on  a  chase  after  those 
horse  thieves,"  burst  out  Andy, 

"You  might  get  a  pretty  warm  reception  if 
you  did  that,"  remarked  Fre?l.  "Horse  thieves 
and  cattle  rustlers  are  usually  a  bad  bunch." 

"It  isn't  likely  they'll  get  ;>n  the  trail  of  the 
horses  very  quickly,"  put  in  Jack.  "Those  fel- 
lows have  too  much  of  a  st^rt.  The  most  they 
can  do  is  to  advertise  the  loss  as  widely  as  pos- 
sible and  trust  to  it  that  some  one  will  recognize 
the  horses,  especially  Blackbird." 


266    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

The  boys  had  spoken  about  going  fishing,  and 
Ruth  and  May  had  asked  if  they  could  go  along. 
As  a  consequence  the  young  folks  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  the  afternoon  along  the  river.  They 
managed  to  catch  a  good  mess  of  fish,  of  which 
they  were  justly  proud. 

"And  just  to  think !  I  caught  two  of  the  fish 
myself !"  exclaimed  Ruth.  "I  never  knew  I  was 
going  to  be  a  fisherman." 

"You  mustn't  say  'fisherman;'  you  must  say 
fisherlady,"  put  in  Andy  mischievously. 

The  men  did  not  return  until  ten  o'clock  that 
night.  All  were  tired  and  hungry  and  glad  to  sit 
down  to  the  meal  which  Mrs.  Powell  and  the  cook 
provided. 

"It  was  a  wild-goose  chase,"  answered  Tom 
Rover  in  reply  to  a  question  from  Andy.  "We 
followed  half  a  dozen  clues,  but  they  didn't  get 
us  anywhere." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  next,  Dad  ?"  ques- 
tioned Spouter. 

"We  sent  word  to  Arrow  Junction  and  several 
other  places,  and  they'll  post  notices  giving  a  de- 
scription of  the  stolen  animals,"  answered  Song- 
bird. "And  I've  offered  a  hundred  dollars  re- 
ward for  any  information  leading  to  the  recovery 
of  the  horses." 

The  next  day  one  of  the  cowboys  came  in  with 


THE   CATTLE  STAMPEDE  267 

more  information.  This  was  to  the  effect  that  a 
ranch  in  that  neighborhood,  owned  by  a  man 
named  Cheltham,  had  suffered  the  loss  of  three 
horses,  one  a  mare  of  considerable  value. 

"Say,  this  certainly  is  getting  interesting,"  said 
Jack,  when  the  lads  heard  the  older  heads  talking 
it  over.  "First  thing  we  know,  all  the  horses  on 
the  place  will  be  gone." 

"Years  ago  they  used  to  suffer  from  the  cattle 
rustlers  in  this  neighborhood,"  said  Spouter. 
"But  horse  stealing  is  something  new." 

"I  wonder  if  that  fellow  Bud  Haddon  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  it?"  questioned  Fred. 

"I  was  thinking  of  that,"  broke  in  Randy.  "I 
think  they  ought  to  make  an  investigation." 

The  boys  spoke  to  the  men  about  this,  and  there 
was  a  long  discussion  which  ended  when  Song- 
bird said  he  would  ride  over  to  the  Bimbel  ranch 
with  his  foreman  and  interview  the  men. 

The  visit  to  the  Bimbel  ranch  occurred  the  next 
day,  and  the  boys  waited  impatiently  for  the  re- 
turn of  the  two  men  to  learn  what  Bimbel  and 
Bud  Haddon  might  have  to  say. 

"Another  wild-goose  chase,"  announced  Song- 
bird Powell,  on  the  return  that  evening.  "We 
saw  Bimbel,  and  he  seemed  as  much  surprised 
as  anybody  to  learn  of  the  horses  being  taken." 

"And  what  about  Bud  Haddon?"  asked  Jack. 


268    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"We  didn't  see  Haddon.  But  Bimbel  said  he 
had  been  at  the  ranch  house  early  in  the  morning1 
and  he  was  certain  Haddon  knew  nothing  about 
the  loss.  He  said  Haddon  and  the  other  men 
were  out  on  a  range  to  the  westward,  looking 
after  the  cattle.  Of  course,  if  Haddon  was  away 
out  there  he  couldn't  have  been  here  taking  our 
horses." 

"And  you  didn't  see  any  trace  of  the  animals?" 
asked  Spouter. 

"Nothing  at  all.  They  said  they  hadn't  heard 
of  the  theft  nor  of  the  loss  of  the  horses  over  at 
Cheltham's  ranch." 

After  that  a  week  passed  swiftly,  during  which 
time  the  young  folks  enjoyed  themselves  thor- 
oughly, not  only  in  tramping  and  riding  around 
and  in  fishing,  but  also  in  other  sports  around 
the  ranch  home.  With  so  much  level  ground 
available,  a  tennis  court  had  been  laid  out,  and 
also  a  croquet  ground,  and  the  boys  and  girls  en- 
joyed these  games  immensely.  The  lads  also 
pitched  quoits,  a  sport  which  at  times  had  been 
popular  at  Colby  Hall. 

One  day  the  boys  accompanied  Joe  Jackson  on 
a  round-up  of  some  cattle  far  down  the  river. 
This  was  a  day  full  of  excitement,  for  some  of 
the  cattle  broke  away  and  Andy  and  Fred  hap- 
pened to  be  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  crowd 


THE  CATTLE  STAMPEDE  269 

and  got  directly  in  line  with  the  runaway  steers. 

"Hi  there!  Hi  there!  Ride  out  of  the  way!" 
yelled  Joe  Jackson  at  the  top  of  his  lungs. 

Andy  and  Fred  were  looking  in  the  opposite 
direction  and  did  not  notice  the  cattle  until  the 
beasts  were  within  a  hundred  yards  of  them. 
Then  they  heard  the  foreman's  cry  and  also  the 
beating  of  the  hoofs  on  the  prairie. 

"My  gracious!"  gasped  Fred.  "Look  what's 
coming !" 

"We've  got  to  get  out  of  the  way  and  be  quick 
about  it,"  returned  Andy,  and  struck  his  horse 
on  the  flank. 

The  steeds  the  boys  were  riding  needed  no  urg- 
ing, for  the  sudden  rush  of  the  cattle  filled  them 
with  alarm.  Away  they  bounded  across  the  grassy 
plain  with  the  maddened  cattle  thundering  after 
them. 

"Let's  ride  to  one  side  and  let  'em  pass !"  gasped 
Fred,  who  was  badly  shaken  by  this  sudden  turn 
of  affairs.  He  had  not  dreamed  that  the  herd  of 
cattle  would  head  for  them  in  this  fashion. 

But  to  get  out  of  the  way  was  not  easy.  To 
one  side  of  the  plains  was  a  series  of  rough  rocks, 
while  to  the  other  side  there  was  a  brook  flowing 
into  the  river,  and  here  the  ground  was  soft  and 
treacherous. 

"Don't  go  that  way !"  cried  Andy,  as  he  saw  his 


270    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

cousin  heading  toward  the  brook.  "You'll  get 
stuck  and  you'll  never  get  out." 

"I'd  rather  get  stuck  than  be  trampled  under 
foot  by  those  beasts,"  panted  Fred. 

"No,  no,  Fred !  Turn  this  way !  I'm  sure  we 
can  get  up  on  the  rocks  somehow!"  declared 
Andy. 

The  boys  continued  to  advance  with  the  thor- 
oughly frightened  cattle  not  far  behind  them. 
While  being  rounded  up  both  cattle  and  cowboys 
had  come  upon  a  nest  of  small  rattlesnakes. 
These  had,  of  course,  frightened  the  beasts,  and 
they  were  still  more  frightened  when  the  cow- 
boys had  begun  to  shoot  at  the  reptiles.  Then  a 
few  of  the  cattle  had  started  the  stampede,  and 
the  rest,  terrorized  by  the  pistol  shots,  had  fol- 
lowed. 

As  the  two  lads  galloped  on,  they  looked 
anxiously  to  the  side  where  the  rocks  were  lo- 
cated. Most  of  the  places  they  passed  were  too 
steep  to  ascend.  But  presently  Andy  caught  sight 
of  a  point  where  there  was  something  of  a  trail 
leading  upward. 

"Come  on  this  way!"  he  yelled  to  his  cousin. 
"I  think  we  can  get  up  on  the  rocks  here !" 

In  the  meanwhile  Joe  Jackson  and  his  men, 
followed  by  Jack  and  the  others,  were  doing  their 
best  to  get  the  cattle  to  turn  back  to  the  point 


THE  CATTLE  STAMPEDE  271 

from  which  they  had  started.  The  best  herd  rid- 
ers were  circling  the  edge  of  the  rushing  animals, 
shouting  at  the  top  of  their  lungs  and  firing  their 
pistols.  But  so  far  this  demonstration  had  had 
little  effect. 

"Oh,  Jack !  do  you  think  they'll  be  run  down  ?" 
gasped  Randy. 

"I  hope  not." 

"They're  on  a  pair  of  good  horses ;  they  ought 
to  be  able  to  outrun  the  cattle,"  came  from  Gif. 

"Don't  be  so  sure  of  that,"  cried  Spouter.  "A 
mad  steer  can  go  some,  believe  me." 

"Who  ever  thought  they  would  start  off  like 
that?"  went  on  Randy. 

"It  was  firing  at  those  rattlesnakes  did  it,"  de- 
clared Jack.  "Of  course,  I  can't  blame  the  cow- 
boys for  doing  that." 

Andy  and  Fred  found  the  rocks  anything  but 
easy  to  ascend.  They  went  up  a  few  feet,  and 
then  the  horses  began  to  slip  and  were  in  danger 
of  rolling  over,  carrying  their  young  riders  with 
them. 

"Look  out!"  screamed  Fred.  He  had  to  catch 
his  horse  around  the  neck  to  keep  from  being 
flung  headlong. 

But  the  horses  were  as  anxious  to  escape  the 
maddened  cattle  as  were  the  lads,  and  the  steeds 
continued  to  scramble  upward  until  they  reached 


272    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

a  ledge  of  rock  where  the  footing  was  compara- 
tively level. 

"Do  you  think  we'll  be  all  right  here?"  panted 
Fred,  when  lie  could  catch  his  breath  sufficiently 
to  speak. 

"We  shall  be  unless  some  of  those  steers  take  it 
into  their  heads  to  climb  the  rocks  the  same  way 
we  did,"  answered  Andy.  He  was  suffering  from 
a  slight  bruise  on  his  left  leg  where  he  had  brushed 
some  of  the  roughest  of  the  rocks. 

The  horses  were  still  alarmed,  and  continued  to 
snort  and  stamp  their  feet,  and  the  two  lads  for  a 
few  seconds  had  their  hands  full  quieting  the  ani- 
mals. They  looked  below  them  and  saw  the  cat- 
tle coming  on  in  a  great  mass.  Some  had  already 
passed,  but  others  were  huddled  close  to  the  rocks 
as  if  on  the  point  of  making  an  ascent. 

"I  really  think  they'll  try  to  come  up,"  said 
Fred. 

"Come  ahead !  We'll  see  if  we  can't  get  a  little 
higher  up,"  answered  Andy.  "I  don't  think  the 
steers  will  follow  us  very  far,  even  if  they  do 
come.  We  can  shoot  at  them  if  we  have  to,"  he 
added,  for  each  of  them  carried  a  pistol. 

Beyond  the  ledge  were  more  rough  rocks,  and 
here  the  two  lads  had  to  proceed  with  caution 
for  fear  one  of  their  horses  might  slip  and  per- 
haps break  a  leg.  As  they  advanced  they  looked 


THE   CATTLE  STAMPEDE  273 

back  and  saw  that  the  cowboys  were  coming  closer 
and  were  beginning  to  drive  a  part  of  the  cattle 
to  the  rear. 

"Oh,  if  only  they  can  drive  them  back!"  sighed 
Fred.  "Just  look  at  'em,  Andy!  There  must  be 
a  hundred  of  the  steers  directly  below  us!  And 
see  how  angry  that  big  black  fellow  looks!  He 
acts  just  as  if  he'd  like  to  come  up  here  and  gore 
us!" 

"Listen !"  ejaculated  Andy,  pulling  back  on  the 
rein.  "What's  that  funny  noise?" 

Both  listened,  and,  mingled  with  the  murmurs 
of  the  cattle  at  the  foot  of  the  rocks,  came  to 
their  ears  a  peculiar  whine  or  growl  that  was  en- 
tirely new  to  the  lads. 

"It's  a  wild  animal  of  some  kind !"  cried  Fred, 
as  the  growl  was  repeated. 

"Where  did  it  come  from?" 

"I  don't  know.    But  it  was  close  at  hand." 

Thoroughly  scared,  both  boys  looked  on  all 
sides.  Then,  of  a  sudden,  Fred  let  out  another 
exclamation. 

"There  it  is !  Right  on  the  shelf  of  rocks  yon- 
der !  Oh,  Andy,  it's  a  mountain  lion !" 


THE    MOUNTAIN    LION 

IT  WAS  a  time  of  extreme  peril,  and  both  of  the 
Rover  boys  realized  it.  The  shelf  of  rock  was 
not  over  twenty  feet  ahead  of  them,  and  on  this 
rested  the  mountain  lion,  crouched  as  if  for  a 
spring. 

Fred  had  scarcely  spoken  when  both  horses 
began  to  snort  and  stamp  their  feet  as  if  wanting 
to  turn  and  run  away. 

"Look  out !"  screamed  Andy,  "or  the  horses  will 
take  us  right  back  among  those  mad  cattle." 

With  the  discovery  of  the  mountain  lion,  that 
lay  close  to  the  rocky  shelf  with  glaring  eyes  and 
tail  that  swept  nervously  from  side  to  side,  the 
boys  had  noted  that  the  animal  was  as  much 
penned  in  as  they  were  themselves.  Beyond  the 
shelf  was  an  overhanging  cliff,  so  that  further 
progress  in  that  direction  was  cut  off  completely. 
Had  this  not  been  so,  it  is  more  than  likely  that 
the  mountain  lion  would  have  turned  and  slunk 
away,  for  like  all  wild  beasts  they  do  not  fight 

274 


THE  MOUNTAIN  LION  275 

unless    they    think    it    is    necessary    to    do    so. 

"Come  on — give  him  a  shot !"  exclaimed  Fred, 
as  soon  as  he  could  recover  from  his  astonish- 
ment. 

His  weapon  was  handy,  and  in  a  moment  the 
pistol  rang  out  sharply,  and  this  shot  was  followed 
by  one  from  his  cousin. 

Had  the  two  boys  been  on  the  ground  their 
shots  might  have  been  more  effective.  But  it  was 
another  task  to  aim  from  the  back  of  a  restive 
horse  that  was  threatening  every  instant  to  bolt, 
and  so  both  bullets  merely  grazed  the  mountain 
lion's  side. 

But  these  shots,  mingled  with  those  coming 
from  the  plain  below,  had  one  good  effect.  The 
cattle  had  been  stopped  in  their  mad  flight  and 
now  they  turned  back  in  the  direction  in  which 
the  cowboys  wanted  them  to  go. 

As  the  pistols  rang  out  the  mountain  lion  gave 
a  scream  of  commingled  pain  and  rage.  Then  it 
crept  forward  several  feet  and  made  a  movement 
as  if  on  the  point  of  leaping  for  Fred  and  his 
steed. 

"Back  up !  Back  up,  Fred !"  yelled  Andy,  and 
fired  a  second  time,  and  his  cousin  did  likewise. 

This  time  the  aim  of  the  boys  was  better,  and 
the  mountain  lion  was  hit  in  one  of  the  forelegs 
and  in  the  flank.  It  made  a  sudden  leap,  but  the 


276    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

wound  in  the  leg  made  it  fall  short,  and  it  fell 
down  between  the  rocks  directly  in  front  of  where 
Fred's  horse  was  standing. 

As  the  mountain  lion  went  down  in  the  hollow 
the  horse  uttered  another  wild  snort  and  an  in- 
stant later  leaped  directly  over  the  wild  beast, 
coming  down  at  the  foot  of  the  rocky  ledge  be- 
yond. The  steed  Andy  rode  backed  violently  until 
some  other  rocks  stopped  its  retreat. 

"Hi  there !  What  are  you  shooting  at  ?"  came 
a  cry  from  below,  and  the  two  boys  recognized 
the  voice  of  Joe  Jackson. 

"It's  a  lion !"  called  back  Andy. 

"Then  plug  him!  Plug  him  quick!"  yelled 
Jackson.  "Plug  him  before  he  gets  a  chance  to 
get  at  you !" 

There  was  no  need  for  this  advice,  for  Andy 
was  already  taking  aim.  This  time  the  bullet 
passed  through  the  body  of  the  lion  and  the  beast 
leaped  up,  turning  over  and  over  convulsively. 
Then  Fred  managed  to  steady  his  mount  for  a 
moment,  and  he,  too,  fired,  this  time  catching  the 
mountain  lion  in  the  ear.  Then  the  beast  gave  a 
final  leap  and  tumbled  down  the  rocks  almost  at 
the  feet  of  the  astonished  ranch  foreman. 

"Are  you  hurt?"  demanded  Jackson  anxiously, 
as  he  gave  a  glance  at  the  lion  to  make  certain  that 
it  was  breathing  its  last. 


THE  MOUNTAIN  LION  277 

"No,"  came  from  both  of  the  boys.  But  it 
must  be  confessed  that  their  voices  were  tremb- 
ling. They  had  all  they  could  do  to  quiet  their 
horses,  the  steeds  showing  a  great  inclination  to 
leap  over  the  rough  rocks  and  run  away. 

By  the  time  that  Fred  and  Andy  managed  to 
descend  to  the  plain  below  them  the  stampede  of 
the  cattle,  which  had  been  only  momentary,  was 
coming  to  an  end,  only  two  steers  having  run 
away  for  parts  unknown. 

"But  they'll  come  back,  Boss,"  said  one  of  the 
cowboys  to  Jackson.  "They  always  do.  You 
can't  hire  'em  to  herd  by  themselves.  They'll  sure 
be  back." 

"A  mountain  lion!  What  do  you  know  about 
that!"  exclaimed  Jack,  as  he  came  riding  up,  fol- 
lowed by  the  other  boys. 

"Did  he  hurt  you  at  all?"  questioned  Spouter 
quickly. 

"He  didn't  get  a  chance,"  answered  Fred,  just  n 
bit  proudly.  "Andy  and  I  let  drive  at  him  almost 
as  soon  as  we  saw  him." 

"A  pretty  powerful  beast,  I'll  say,"  remarked 
Gif,  as  he  made  an  examination  of  the  lion  that 
was  now  dead.  "I  don't  think  I'd  like  to  face  such 
a  creature." 

"We  had  to  fight  him,"  declared  Andy.  "He 
was  right  up  on  that  rocky  shelf  yonder,  and  he 


278    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

couldn't  back  out.  If  he  had  had  the  chance  he'd 
have  leaped  right  on  us." 

"Well,  you're  thQ  prize  hunters  of  this  crowd," 
declared  Randy. 

"You  can't  put  that  down  to  hunting,"  an- 
swered his  twin  promptly.  "That  was  simply  a 
case  of  necessity." 

"Anyway,  you've  got  the  lion,  and  that  skin  will 
make  some  rug,"  declared  Spouter. 

"I  wonder  if  there  are  any  other  mountain  lions 
around?"  remarked  Gif.  "I'd  like  to  get  a  shot 
at  one  of  them  myself." 

"They  often  travel  in  pairs,"  answered  Joe 
Jackson.  "But  if  you're  going  after  lions  you 
had  better  arm  yourselves  with  rifles.  It  was  only 
good  luck  that  brought  this  beast  down  with  pis- 
tol bullets." 

"The  pistols  were  good  enough  at  close  quar- 
ters," answered  Andy.  "Just  the  same,  I'd  rather 
shoot  the  next  mountain  lion  from  a  distance," 
he  added  dryly. 

Of  course,  when  the  boys  rode  up  to  the  ranch 
home  with  the  carcass  of  the  dead  lion  there  was 
a  good  deal  of  excitement  among  the  older  folks 
and  the  girls,  and  Fred  and  Andy  had  to  tell 
their  story  in  detail. 

"You  really  must  be  more  careful  in  the  future, 
boys,"  declared  Mrs.  Sam  Rover.  "Why,  you 


THE  MOUNTAIN  LION  279 

might  have  been  trampled  under  foot  by  the  cat- 
tle, as  well  as  chewed  up  by  this  mountain  lion !" 

"I  didn't  know  there  was  any  danger  of  the  cat 
tie  stampeding,"  put  in  Mrs.  Tom  Rover. 

"Oh,  Jackson  assures  me  that  the  stamped* 
wasn't  of  much  consequence,"  remarked  Songbird 
Powell.  "But,  of  course,  the  boys  shouldn't  have 
gotten  in  front  of  the  animals.  But  this  question 
of  facing  a  mountain  lion  is  another  story." 

"Py  chimminy!  you  don't  vas  cotch  me  facin' 
no  mountain  lions,"  declared  Hans  Mueller  em- 
phatically. "I  did  me  dot  years  ago,  ven  I  go 
oud  mit  your  faders.  But  I  ton't  do  him  no  more 
alreatty." 

"Oh,  Fred,  you  must  be  more  careful!"  pro- 
tested May  to  the  youngest  Rover,  when  she  got 
the  chance.  "Suppose  that  lion  had  jumped  right 
on  top  of  you?" 

"Believe  me,  May,  I  didn't  want  to  get  so 
close,"  he  answered.  "When  we  discovered  the 
beast  he  wasn't  over  twenty  feet  away." 

"And  they  told  us  there  weren't  very  many  wild 
beasts  around  here !"  came  from  Martha.  "After 
this  I  guess  we  had  better  be  careful  how  we 
roam  through  the  woods  and  along  the  river." 

"Oh,  they're  not  likely  to  harm  you  unless  you 
corner  them,"  said  Songbird  Powell.  "They'll 
sneak  away  from  you  if  you  give  them  half  a 


280    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

chance.  It's  only  when  they're  cornered  or  when 
they're  needing  food  that  they  are  really  com- 
bative." 

The  mountain  lion  was  skinned  and  the  pelt 
taken  away  by  the  ranch  foreman  to  be  cured,  and 
then  Fred  and  Andy  took  it  easy  for  the  rest  of 
the  day. 

"Isn't  it  queer  that  Brassy  Bangs  has  never 
showed  himself  around  this  place?"  remarked 
Spouter  that  evening.  "Wouldn't  you  think  he'd 
at  least  ride  over  to  see  what  sort  of  an  outfit  we 
had  here?" 

"More  than  likely  he's  afraid  of  his  welcome," 
said  Jack.  "He  knows  that  none  of  us  care  for 
him." 

"I'd  like  to  know  if  he  really  started  that  auto," 
put  in  Fred. 

"Gosh,  what  a  sour  fellow  that  Jarley  Bangs 
was!"  exclaimed  Andy. 

There  had  been  an  indication  of  a  storm,  but 
this  had  passed  away,  and  one  day  found  the 
Rover  boys  and  their  chums  off  on  a  trip  along 
a  trail  which  led  across  the  river  and  to  the  moun- 
tains westward,  a  trail  which  they  were  informed 
by  Jackson  led  between  the  ranches  owned  by 
Jarley  Bangs  and  Bimbel. 

"I'd  like  to  get  a  better  view  of  Bimbel's  ranch 
and  also  of  Bangs'  place,"  declared  Jack.  "And 


THE  MOUNTAIN  LION  281 

maybe  we'll  see  something  of  Bud  Haddon  and 
his  crowd." 

All  of  the  boys  were  now  on  good  terms  with 
Hop  Lung,  and  he  had  prepared  for  them  a  sub- 
stantial lunch  and  also  something  extra  in  case 
they  should  remain  out  after  the  supper  hour. 

"Now  you  lads  take  good  care  of  yourselves," 
admonished  Tom  Rover,  when  they  were  ready  to 
depart  on  their  day's  outing.  "No  more  rattle- 
snakes or  mountain  lions!" 

"Or  mix-ups  with  runaway  cattle,"  put  in  Sam 
Rover. 

Spouter  and  Jack  carried  small  rifles,  and  the 
others  were  armed  with  pistols.  They,  however, 
were  not  going  out  to  hunt,  but  thought  best  to 
provide  themselves  with  the  firearms  in  case  any 
game  presented  itself. 

It  did  not  take  the  boys  long  to  cross  the  river, 
and  then  they  followed  a  trail  which  led  up  a 
long  hill  and  through  a  somewhat  dense  forest. 

They  had  journeyed  along  the  best  part  of  two 
hours  when  they  noticed  the  sun  going  under  a 
cloud.  This  caused  the  trail  under  the  trees  to 
become  dark. 

"Gee!  I  wonder  if  we're  going  to  bave  a 
storm?"  remarked  Randy. 

"Oh,  maybe  it's  nothing  but  a  wind  cloud/' 
answered  Spouter. 


282    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

They  continued  to  move  along  the  trail,  and 
presently  reached  a  small  opening  where  there  was 
a  spring. 

"Halt !"  called  out  Jack,  who  was  riding  ahead 
with  Spouter. 

"What's  the  matter?"  questioned  Gif  quickly. 

"Look  there !  Isn't  that  a  wolf  ?"  asked  Jack. 
He  pointed  with  his  rifle,  which  he  had  already 
unslung,  and  all  the  boys  looked  in  the  direction 
pointed  out. 

"Maybe  it's  a  dog,"  put  in  Fred  quickly. 

"You  don't  want  to  shoot  somebody's  pet,"  ad- 
monished Gif. 

The  animal  had  slunk  away  behind  some  brush- 
wood, and  now  they  saw  it  trying  to  retreat,  pull- 
ing something  through  the  dead  leaves  as  it  did  so. 

"It's  a  wolf !  I'm  sure  of  it !"  declared  Jack, 
and,  raising  his  rifle,  he  took  quick  aim  and  fired. 

As  the  echo  of  the  firearm  died  away  the  lads 
heard  a  snarl  and  a  yelp,  and  an  instant  later  a 
gaunt  wolf  showed  himself,  his  fangs  gleaming 
dangerously  as  he  came  closer. 

Several  shots  rang  out,  for  all  of  the  boys  had 
their  weapons  ready.  The  wolf  was  hit  in  three 
places,  and  gave  a  single  leap  into  the  air  and 
then  dropped  lifeless. 

"Hurrah !  We've  got  him !"  yelled  Randy,  with 
satisfaction. 


THE  MOUNTAIN  LION  283 

"Be  careful!  Don't  go  too  close  before  we're 
sure,"  warned  Jack.  "Better  reload  first." 

But  the  wolf  was  past  doing  further  harm,  and 
having1  assured  themselves  of  this  the  boys  looked 
at  what  he  had  been  carrying  away. 

"It's  the  side  of  a  calf!"  exclaimed  Spouter. 
"Isn't  this  the  limit?  I'm  glad  we  brought  him 
down !" 

"He  must  have  been  raiding  some  cow  yard," 
said  Jack. 

"No  ranch  cow  yard/'  said  Gif.  "This  half  of 
a  calf  was  skinned  by  some  person,  I'll  bet  he 
stole  it  out  of  some  ranch  larder."  And  later  on 
ii  was  learned  that  the  calf  meat  had  been  stolen 
f rom  Jarley  Bangs'  place  the  night  before. 

The  boys  had  become  so  interested  in  bringing 
down  the  wolf  that  they  had  paid  no  attention  to 
what  was  taking  place  overhead.  But  now  they 
noticed  that  the  sky*  was  more  overcast  than  ever. 
The  wind  began  to  blow  through  the  woods,  and 
of  a  sudden  there  came  a  downpour  as  surprising 
as  it  was  dismaying. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

IN   THE   CAVE 

"WE'RE  in  for  it  now !"  cried  Jack,  as  he  looked 
up  at  the  sky  and  at  the  trees  beginning1  to  bend 
in  the  wind. 

"And  it's  going  to  be  some  storm,  or  I  miss  my 
guess,"  added  Gif. 

"I  wonder  if  we  can  find  any  shelter  around 
here  ?"  put  in  Randy.  "If  we  can't  we'll  be  soaked 
to  the  skin  in  no  time." 

"Jackson  was  telling  me  of  a  couple  of  caves 
toward  the  end  of  these  woods,"  said  Spouter 
quickly.  "I  wonder  if  we  could  reach  the  near- 
est of  them?  It  might  help  us  to  get  out  of  the 
rain." 

"Come  on — let's  try  it !"  put  in  Fred  eagerly. 

Leaving  the  dead  wolf  where  it  had  fallen,  the 
boys  pushed  forward  on  the  trail,  which  now  led 
downward  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill.  Here 
they  noticed  the  going  was  getting  rougher,  and 
presently  they  found  themselves  entering  a  defile 
among  the  rocks.  Here  the  trees  were  more  scat- 

284 


IN  THE   CAVE  285 

taring,  and  consequently  they  were  exposed  to  the 
full  fury  of  the  elements.  Ever  and  anon  a  flash 
of  lightning  would  illumine  the  sky,  followed  by 
the  crack  and  rumble  of  thunder. 

"Say,  maybe  we  had  better  stay  under  the 
trees,"  suggested  Andy. 

"Suppose  the  trees  should  be  struck  by  light- 
ning?" questioned  Jack.  "I  think  we  had  better 
go  on,  especially  if  we're  anywhere  near  those 
caves  Jackson  mentioned." 

A  turn  in  the  defile  brought  them  to  something 
of  an  open  place.  Here  on  one  side  the  rocks 
towered  fully  fifty  feet  above  their  heads  and  at 
one  point  there  was  an  opening  perhaps  fifteen 
feet  square  and  leading  into  the  side  of  the  hill. 

"This  must  be  the  first  of  the  caves!"  cried 
Spouter.  "Come  on  in!"  And  without  ceremony 
he  led  the  way,  and  the  others  followed,  glad  to 
get  out  of  the  storm. 

They  found  the  cave  an  irregular  one,  running 
in  somewhat  of  a  semicircle  and  with  a  flooring 
that  was  comparatively  level.  It  was  dry  and 
fairly  comfortable,  and  once  beyond  the  fury  of 
the  storm  the  lads  dismounted  and  proceeded  to 
make  themselves  at  home. 

The  rain  continued  to  come  down  and,  with 
nothing  better  to  do,  the  boys  proceeded  to  make 
themselves  as  comfortable  as  possible.  Near  the 


286    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

entrance  to  the  cave  they  found  some  leaves  and 
dead  tree  branches  which  were  still  dry,  and  these 
they  dragged  inside  and  then  made  themselves  a 
campfire. 

"I  reckon  we'll  have  to  cut  out  going  any 
further,"  announced  Spouter.  "Even  if  the  storm 
clears  away,  the  trail  will  be  very  wet  and  slip- 


It  still  lacked  an  hour  to  noon,  and  with  noth- 
ing else  to  do  the  boys  tethered  their  horses  and 
then  proceeded  to  investigate  their  surroundings. 
From  the  campfire  they  obtained  several  torches, 
and  with  these  in  hand  they  moved  along  slowly 
around  the  bend  of  the  cave  and  over  a  series  of 
rocks  which  led  upward. 

"It  certainly  is  a  larger  cave  than  I  supposed," 
said  Jack,  as  he  and  Gif  led  the  way,  with  the 
others  close  behind. 

"I  think  I  see  a  light  ahead,  Jack,"  was  Gif's 
remark.  "That  must  be  another  opening  to  the 
cave." 

"Maybe  the  two  caves  that  Jackson  mentioned 
are  really  one,  and  this  passageway  connects 
them." 

"We'll  soon  find  out." 

By  this  time  all  but  one  of  the  torches  had  burnt 
themselves  out.  But  this  the  lads  did  not  mind, 
for  the  light  ahead  was  steadily  increasing,  show- 


IN  THE  CAVE 


28? 


ing  that  they  could  not  be  far  from  another  open- 
ing. 

"Look!"  called  Jack  suddenly.  And  then  he 
added :  "Keep  quiet,  all  of  you !" 

He  pointed  ahead  and  there,  around  a  bend  of 
the  rocks,  all  saw  two  figures  moving  around  on 
horseback.  One  was  the  figure  of  a  tall  man,  and 
the  other  that  of  a  well-grown  youth. 

"Why,  that's  Brassy  Bangs!"  whispered  Fred 
excitedly. 

"Yes.  And  the  man  is  Bud  Haddon,"  returned 
Andy. 

"What  do  you  bet  Haddon  isn't  after  Brassy 
for  more  money?"  put  in  Fred  excitedly. 

While  the  youngest  Rover  was  speaking,  he  and 
the  others  saw  that  the  two  figures  on  horseback 
had  disappeared  behind  a  mass  of  rocks. 

"I'm  going  ahead  and  find  out  about  this,"  de- 
clared Jack.  "Come  on!  So  far  as  we  can  see 
there  are  only  two  of  them,  so  the  six  of  us  have 
nothing  to  fear." 

"Especially  as  we're  armed,"  added  Fred,  who 
carried  his  pistol  with  him. 

Throwing  down  the  last  of  their  torches,  the 
six  boys  advanced  with  caution.  They  heard  the 
horses  beyond  the  rocks  occasionally  stamping  a 
hoof  and  caught  a  faint  murmur  of  voices.  Then, 
led  by  Jack,  they  mounted  the  rocks  noiselessly, 


288    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

presently  gaining  a  point  where  they  could  look 
directly  down  upon  Brassy  Bangs  and  his  com- 
panion. 

"It's  all  wrong,  Bud  Haddon,  and  you  know 
it!"  they  heard  Brassy  declare.  "And  sooner  or 
later  the  authorities  will  get  after  you  for  this." 

"See  here,  Lester  Bangs,  you  don't  have  to 
preach  to  me!"  growled  Bud  Haddon.  "You're 
just  as  deep  in  some  things  as  I  am  in  others." 

"It  isn't  true,  and  you  know  it !"  whined  Brassy. 
And  now  the  lads  who  were  listening  could  see 
that  their  fellow-cadet  was  very  much  upset.  "I'm 
not  guilty,  and  I  never  have  been  guilty  of  any 
wrongdoing!" 

"You  tell  that  to  the  police  and  see  what  they 
have  to  say  about  it,"  sneered  Haddon.  "You 
know  well  enough  that  you  set  fire  to  John  Cal- 
der's  barn  and  burnt  up  horses  that  was  worth 
thousands  of  dollars." 

"And  I  always  said  it  was  some  cowboys  or 
tramps  that  did  it!"  stormed  Brassy. 

"Not  much!  You  did  it!  I  know  it,  and  so 
do  Jillson  and  Dusenbury!  We've  got  the  goods 
on  you." 

"What  were  Jillson  and  Dusenbury  and  you  do- 
ing around  the  place?"  questioned  Brassy  sud- 
denly. 

"Never  mind  what  we  were  doing  around  there. 


IN  THE  CAVE  289 

We  know  you  set  the  barn  on  fire.  Didn't  you 
have  a  quarrel  with  old  Calder?" 

"Yes,  I  did.  But  I  didn't  make  auy  fire. 
Maybe  you  had  a  quarrel  with  him  yourself." 

"Hold  on  there,  Bangs !  None  of  that !"  cried 
Bud  Haddon  sternly. 

"Well,  you  wouldn't  be  too  good  to  set  the  fire," 
added  Brassy,  with  sudden  recklessness.  "Not 
after  the  way  you  are  acting  out  here,  running 
away  with  those  horses,  and  after  the  way  you 
acted  at  Colby  Hall,  trying  to  rob  every  room  in 
the  place !" 

"Wait  a  minute  now!  Wait  a  minute!"  re- 
turned the  man  sarcastically.  "Who  was  it  lent 
me  his  uniform  and  who  was  it  that  told  me  just 
what  rooms  to  go  into?  Answer  me  those  ques- 
tions, will  you?" 

•'You  wouldn't  have  gotten  hold  of  the  uni- 
form and  you  wouldn't  have  gotten  any  informa- 
tion if  you  hadn't  threatened  me  in  all  sorts  of 
ways,"  answered  Brassy,  somewhat  lamely.  "I 
wish  now  that  I'd  never  had  anything  to  do  with 
you!" 

"Well,  you  keep  your  tongue  between  your 
teeth,  or  else  you'll  get  yourself  in  the  hottest  kind 
of  water!"  burst  out  Bud  Haddon.  "Don't  you 
know  that  they  can  send  you  to  prison  for  ten 
years  for  what  you  did?" 


290    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"I  haven't  said  anything  to  anybody  as  yet,'* 
answered  Brassy  hastily. 

"Well,  you  see  that  you  don't!" 

"But  I  didn't  set  Calder's  barn  on  fire — really 
I  didn't !"  pleaded  the  boy.  "I  don't  see  why  you 
won't  believe  me." 

"I'm  willing  to  let  that  matter  drop  if  only 
you'll  keep  a  civil  tongue  in  your  head  and  mind 
what  you're  doing,"  returned  Bud  Haddon.  "And 
don't  forget — I  want  at  least  a  hundred  dollars 
more  just  as  soon  as  you  can  lay  your  hands  on 
it." 

"I  don't  see  how  I'm  going  to  get  it.  I'm  ex- 
pecting some  money  from  my  uncle.  But  that 
has  got  to  pay  for  my  tuition  at  Colby  Hall  this 
fall." 

"Well,  you  let  the  school  wait  for  its  money 
and  you  turn  it  over  to  me.  They  won't  want 
you  there  anyhow  if  they  should  find  out  what 
sort  of  a  fellow  you  are,"  went  on  Bud  Haddon 
coarsely.  "Now  I've  got  to  be  getting  back  to 
Bimbel's,  rain  or  no  rain,"  he  continued.  "Just 
remember,  you've  got  to  fork  over  a  hundred  in 
cold  cash  before  you  start  East  again.  If  you 
don't — well,  look  out,  that's  all !"  And  with  this 
threat  the  tall  man  rode  out  of  the  cave. 

The  Rovers  and  their  chums  had  listened  to 
every  word  that  had  been  spoken.  They  were 


IN  THE  CAVE  291 

both  mystified  and  amazed  by  what  had  been  said. 

"That  fellow  H  addon  is  surely  a  first-class  ras- 
cal," whispered  Spouter  to  Jack. 

"Do  you  know  what  I  think  we  had  better  do  ?" 
returned  the  young  major.  "Let's  stop  Brassy 
and  have  a  straight  talk  with  him.  I  don't  think 
he's  quite  as  bad  as  we  thought  he  might  be." 

"Yes,  let  us  stop  Brassy  by  all  means,"  came 
in  a  low  tone  from  Fred. 

Brassy  Bangs  had  ridden  to  the  mouth  of  the 
cave  and  there  sat  astride  of  his  horse,  watching 
Bud  Haddon  as  he  galloped  away  though  the  rain. 
Then  he  turned  back  in  anything  but  a  cheerful 
humor.  The  other  boys  saw  him  dismount  and 
sink  down  on  a  rock,  covering  his  face  with  his 
hands. 

"Come  on,"  said  Jack,  and  without  more  ado 
he  scrambled  down  from  the  rocks  and  came 
around  to  where  Brassy  was  sitting,  and  the  oth- 
ers did  the  same. 

Brassy's  misery  was  so  great  that  for  several 
seconds  he  did  not  notice  their  approach.  Then 
he  looked  up  startled  and  leaped  to  his  feet. 

"Where  did  you  come  from?"  he  demanded, 
as  soon  as  he  could  speak. 

"We  came  from  the  other  end  of  the  carve, 
Brassy,"  answered  Jack. 

"How  long  have  you  been  here?" 


292    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"We've  been  here  long  enough  to  hear  the  talk 
you  had  with  that  fellow  named  Haddon,"  an- 
swered Fred. 

"You  did!"  Brassy  turned  pale.  "It  wasn't 
very  nice  to  listen  when  you  had  no  business  to!" 

"Never  mind  about  that  now,  Brassy.  What 
we  want  to  know  is,  did  you  or  that  fellow  rob 
Colby  Hall?" 

"He  did  it !  I  didn't  have  a  thing  to  do  with 
it — at  least,  willingly !"  cried  Brassy  Bangs.  "He 
forced  me  to  do  everything  I  did.  He  threatened 
me  in  all  sorts  of  ways — said  he  would  put  me 
in  prison  and  all  that  if  I  didn't  help  him.  Oh, 
he's  the  worst  man  there  ever  was !"  groaned  the 
overwrought  boy.  And  now  the  others  could  see 
that  he  was  on  the  verge  of  collapse. 

"See  here,  Brassy,  why  don't  you  tell  us  the 
whole  story?"  put  in  Gif  kindly. 

"Why  should  I  tell  my  story  to  you?  All  you 
fellows  are  against  me — you  always  were!" 

"We're  not  against  you,  Brassy,"  answered 
Jack.  "If  you  can  prove  to  us  that  you're  really 
being  hounded  by  that  man,  we'll  do  what  we  can 
to  help  you.  Isn't  that  so,  fellows?"  And  at 
this  question  the  others  nodded. 

"Hounded  is  right!  He's  done  nothing  but 
hound  me  ever  since  he  knew  me,"  whined  the 
accused  one. 


IN    THE    CAFE  293 

"You  tell  me  one  thing!"  demanded  Spouter, 
striding  up  and  catching  Brassy  by  the  shoulder. 
"Did  that  rascal  steal  the  horses  from  our  ranch?" 

"I  think  he  did — in  fact,  I'm  about  certain  he 
did.  That  is,  either  he  or  the  fellows  he's  in  league 
with." 

"Who  are  those  other  fellows?" 

"Two  fellows  who  just  came  out  here  from 
Chicago  named  Jillson  and  Dusenbury  and  two 
others  from  Bimbel's  ranch  named  Noxley  and 
Jenks.  The  whole  bunch  were  mixed  up  with 
Bimbel  some  years  ago  in  a  shady  transaction, 
and  they  lit  out  for  quite  a  while.  But  now 
they're  back  again." 

"I  don't  see  why  you  want  to  get  mixed  up 
with  a  crowd  like  that,"  was  Andy's  comment. 

"I  didn't  want  to  get  mixed  up  with  'em,"  de- 
clared Brassy.  "I  haven't  had  a  thing  to  do  with 
any  of  'em  except  Bud  Haddon.  Oh,  I  wish  I'd 
never  met  that  man!"  And  now  Brassy  seemed 
almost  on  the  verge  of  tears. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

A    CONFESSION 

AFTER  that  it  was  an  easy  matter  for  the  other 
boys  to  get  Brassy  to  make  a  complete  confes- 
sion. 

"My  first  trouble  came  when  I  got  a  job  with 
John  Calder  who  has  a  farm  on  the  outskirts  of 
Omaha,"  said  Brassy.  "I  had  had  a  quarrel  at 
home,  and  also  a  quarrel  with  my  uncle  here,  and 
had  made  up  my  mind  to  get  a  place  and  support 
myself.  But  I  couldn't  get  along  with  Calder, 
who  was  a  very  strict  man,  and  one  afternoon  we 
had  a  lively  quarrel,  and  I  told  him  I'd  leave,  and 
I  did  so  and  went  to  Omaha.  About  a  week  after 
that  Calder's  barn  burned  down  and  a  number  of 
horses  were  caught  in  the  fire.  That  was  just 
after  I  had  fallen  in  with  Bud  Haddon  and  his 
two  chums,  Jillson  and  Dusenbury.  Haddon  pre- 
tended to  be  quite  friendly.  But  all  at  once  he 
accused  me  of  setting  the  fire  and  said  that  Jill- 
son  and  Dusenbury,  who  had  left  the  day  before, 
could  prove  it.  I  protested  my  innocence,  but  he 

294 


A  CONFESSION  295 

insisted  I  was  guilty  and  worked  me  up  to  such 
an  extent  that  I  gave  him  almost  every  dollar  I 
had  in  my  pocket  to  keep  him  quiet." 

"And  you  say  positively  that  you  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  fire?"  questioned  Fred. 

"Not  a  thing!" 

"Couldn't  you  prove  that  you  weren't  there 
when  the  fire  took  place?"  asked  Andy. 

"No,  I  couldn't,  because  I  went  to  a  vaudeville 
show  that  evening,  and  I  was  among  strangers,  so 
that  I  couldn't  account  for  my  time." 

"Did  Haddon  hound  you  when  you  came  to 
Colby  Hall?"  questioned  Gif. 

"He  certainly  did — not  once,  but  half  a  dozen 
times.  And  I  gave  him  all  the  money  I  could 
scrape  up.  In  fact,  I  even  borrowed  some  money 
from  Halliday  and  a  couple  of  the  other  fel- 
lows." 

"But  what  about  the  robbery  at  the  Hall?" 
questioned  Fred. 

"Several  times  Haddon  came  to  me  and  spoke 
in  a  mysterious  manner  about  its  being  an  easy 
matter  to  make  a  big  haul.  Then  he  hinted  about 
the  robbery ;  but  I  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
it.  On  the  afternoon  when  we  were  getting  ready 
to  celebrate  that  night,  he  sent  word  that  he 
wanted  to  see  me  at  a  certain  barn  not  far  from 
the  school.  When  I  got  there  he  demanded  that 


296    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

I  help  him  go  through  the  bedrooms  while  the 
fellows  were  having  a  good  time  on  the  campus 
and  down  by  the  river.  I  said  I  wouldn't  do  it, 
and  then  all  of  a  sudden  he  hit  me  on  the  head 
and  knocked  me  down.  Then  he  stripped  me  of 
my  trousers  and  jacket  and  tied  me  fast  in  one 
of  the  disused  horse  stalls." 

"And  you  mean  to  say  he  used  your  uniform 
in  stealing  into  the  school?"  asked  Spouter. 

"That's  it.  I  didn't  know  it  at  the  time,  because 
he  went  to  another  part  of  the  barn  where  I 
couldn't  see  him.  But  later  on,  when  he  brought 
the  uniform  back,  he  told  me  all  about  it.  He 
thought  he  had  been  wonderfully  slick." 

"Why  didn't  you  expose  him  at  once?"  de- 
manded Jack. 

"He  told  me  that  if  I  exposed  him  he  would  tell 
the  authorities  that  I  had  planned  the  whole 
scheme  and  that  I  had  done  most  of  the  work  my- 
self. He  said  some  one  had  seen  him  in  the  uni- 
form scooting  from  one  room  to  another,  so  that 
the  report  would  circulate  that  some  cadet  was 
guilty.  He  got  me  so  worked  up  that  at  last  I 
promised  to  keep  quiet" 

"And  had  he  really  robbed  your  room,  too?" 
demanded  Fred. 

"Yes.  I  lost  my  stuff  just  as  I  reported  Oh, 
you  can't  imagine  how  I  felt!"  went  on  Brassy 


A   CONFESSION  297 

Bangs  in  a  hopeless  tone  of  voice.  "Many  a  time 
I  thought  I'd  go  to  Colonel  Colby  and  confess 
everything.  But  then  I  thought  they  would  bring 
that  old  charge  of  barn-burning  up  against  me,  as 
well  as  the  charge  of  helping  in  the  robbery,  and 
I  didn't  have  nerve  enough  to  say  a  word.  Oh, 
I  know  I  was  a  big  fool !  I  should  have  faced  it 
out!" 

"Wait  a  minute !"  put  in  Jack  suddenly.  "Are 
you  pretty  sure  Haddon,  as  well  as  Dusenbury  and 
Jillson,  are  guilty  of  making  off  with  the  horses 
that  are  missing?" 

"I  am !" 

"Well,  then,  isn't  it  possible  that  those  three 
went  to  this  John  Calder's  barn  and  stole  some  of 
the  horses  and  then  set  fire  to  the  place  to  cover 
the  theft?" 

"By  golly,  I'll  bet  that's  just  what  they  did !" 
burst  out  Brassy  Bangs.  "I  remember  now  that 
the  reports  in  the  newspapers  said  the  fire  had 
been  so  fierce  that  the  carcasses  of  the  horses  had 
been  burnt  up  completely.  They  only  found  some 
of  the  bones  in  the  ruins.  Oh,  if  they  really  did 
do  that!" 

"Did  Calder  have  any  particularly  good 
horses  ?" 

"Yes,  he  had  a  splendid  team  of  matched  grays 
that  were  worth  considerable  money.  He  thought 


298    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

more  of  the  grays  than  he  did  of  all  his  other 
horses  put  together." 

"I'll  wager  a  toothpick  against  a  lemon  that 
gang  stole  the  grays  before  the  fire,"  declared 
Andy  emphatically. 

"The  police  ought  to  arrest  those  three  men  and 
put  'em  through  what  they  call  the  third  degree," 
remarked  Gif. 

"I'd  like  to  know  one  other  thing,"  went  on 
Andy,  and  now  his  face  showed  a  slight  grin. 
"What  do  you  know  about  your  Uncle  Jarley's 
auto  running  away  by  itself?" 

"Oh,  please  don't  mention  that  tin  junk 
wagon!"  pleaded  Brassy.  "I  started  it,  and  the 
blamed  thing  ran  over  me,  and  I  was  lame  for  a 
week." 

"Does  your  uncle  know  anything  about  what 
Haddon  and  his  crowd  are  up  to?"  questioned 
Jack. 

"Not  exactly.  Although  he's  becoming  sus- 
picious of  the  whole  gang  around  the  Bftnbel 
place.  You  know  he's  never  trusted  Bimbel  since 
the  man  got  into  difficulty  with  the  authorities 
several  years  ago." 

After  that  the  seven  boys  talked  the  matter 
over  for  half  an  hour  longer.  And  then  the  oth- 
ers insisted  upon  it  that  Brassy  accompany  them 
to  the  other  entrance  to  the  cave,  and  there  all  sat 


A   CONFESSION  299 

down  to  partake  of  the  lunch  brought  from  Big 
Horn  Ranch. 

Brassy  appeared  much  relieved  by  the  confes- 
sion he  had  made,  and  readily  answered  all  the 
questions  put  to  him.  His  assertive  manner  had 
left  him  entirely,  and  he  appeared  quite  humble. 

"If  he  ever  gets  out  of  this  I'll  bet  he'll  be  a 
different  fellow,"  whispered  Randy  to  Fred. 

"I  think  so  myself,"  was  the  reply.  "But  how 
he  is  going  to  square  himself  with  Colonel  Colby 
remains  to  be  seen.  It  was  a  serious  piece  of 
business  to  let  Haddon  steal  all  those  things  from 
the  school  and  say  nothing  about  it." 

While  the  boys  were  eating  the  storm  stopped, 
and  less  than  an  hour  later  the  sun  was  shining  as 
before. 

"I  think  we  might  as  well  be  on  our  way  back 
to  the  ranch,"  remarked  Spouter.  "The  sooner 
we  get  there  and  let  our  fathers  know  how  mat- 
ters stand,  the  better." 

"Don't  you  want  to  go  with  us,  Brassy?"  asked 
Jack. 

"If  I  did  that  I  couldn't  get  back  to  my  uncle's 
place  to-night,  and  then  he'd  worry  about  me. 
Otherwise  I  would  just  as  lief  go  to  your  place 
as  not.  Now  that  I've  told  you  everything  I'd 
like  to  see  the  whole  matter  cleaned  up,  and  quick 
too." 


300    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

"How  far  is  it  to  your  uncle's  ranch?"  asked 
Fred. 

"Not  over  a  mile  and  a  half." 

"Then  suppose  we  go  there  first,  and  then  all  of 
us  can  strike  out  for  Big  Horn  Ranch.  Maybe 
your  uncle  will  want  to  take  part  in  what  is  going 
on,"  said  Jack. 

"I  wish  you  would  go  with  me!"  cried  Brassy 
eagerly.  "I'm  afraid  my  uncle  will  raise  Cain 
when  I  tell  him  the  truth." 

"He  won't  dare  do  much  when  we're  around/'' 
answered  Gif.  "If  he  gets  too  ugly  you  can  clear 
out  and  meet  us  on  the  way  to  our  place." 

"That's  the  talk,"  said  Randy. 

Again  there  was  a  discussion,  but  in  the  end  it 
was  decided  that  the  whole  party  should  lose  no 
time  in  getting  to  Jarley  Bangs'  ranch.  They 
would  explain  matters  to  Brassy's  uncle,  and  then 
set  out  for  Songbird  Powell's  place. 

The  campfire  was  speedily  stamped  out,  and 
leaping  into  the  saddle,  the  seven  boys  set  out  'for 
the  Bangs'  place,  Brassy  leading  the  way,  with 
Spouter  beside  him.  It  was  a  wet  and  dismal  ride 
through  the  woods,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
Brassy  felt  every  bit  as  dismal  as  his  surround- 
ings. 

"Gee,  but  I  certainly  am  sorry  for  him !"  whis- 
pered Andy  to  his  twin.  "He  isn't  a  fellow  that 


A    CONFESSION  301 

I  would  cotton  to,  but  he  certainly  has  got  him- 
self into  a  pickle." 

Presently  the  woods  were  left  behind  and  they 
came  out  on  the  open  prairie.  Here  the  sun  shone 
brightly,  and  the  trail  was  drying  rapidly.  They 
urged  their  steeds  into  a  gallop,  and  in  a  short 
while  came  in  sight  of  the  Jarley  Bangs'  outfit. 

As  they  rode  up  they  saw  Jarley  Bangs  come 
from  the  ranch  house  and  move  swiftly  toward 
one  of  the  stables  where  the  horses  were  kept.  He 
was  evidently  in  a  hurry  and  much  excited. 

"Hello!  where  have  you  been?"  he  demanded 
of  his  nephew.  "Where  did  you  pick  up  these 
chaps  ?" 

"I  met  'em  during  the  storm  over  at  Twin 
Caves,"  answered  Brassy. 

"It's  a  wonder  you  wouldn't  stay  around  the 
house  once  in  a  while,"  grumbled  Jarley  Bangs,. 
"If  you  would,  maybe  I  wouldn't  be  losing 
things." 

"Losing  things!  What  do  you  mean,  Uncle 
Jarley?"  questioned  the  nephew  quickly. 

"What  do  I  mean?"  stormed  the  ranch  owner. 
"Do  you  know  what  has  happened  since  you  went 
away  ?" 

"No." 

"Well,  then,  I'll  tell  you!  Two  of  our  best 
horses  have  been  stolen !  Right  out  of  the  stable, 


302 

too !"  exclaimed  Jarley  Bangs  wrathf  ully.  "Dus- 
ter and  old  Whitehead!" 

"Stolen!"  came  from  all  of  the  boys  simul- 
taneously. 

"Yes,  stolen!  Nobody  saw  'em  taken,  but 
they're  gone,  and  not  a  man  on  the  ranch  was  near 
'em!" 

"I'll  wager  that's  more  of  Bud  Haddon's 
work,"  declared  Jack  quickly. 

"But  he  wasn't  here — he  was  over  at  the 
caves,"  returned  Fred. 

"Well,  if  he  didn't  do  it,  then  some  members 
of  his  gang  did,"  put  in  Randy. 

"I'm  going  to  have  the  law  on  somebody  for 
this !"  stormed  Jarley  Bangs.  "Too  many  horses 
in  this  neighborhood  have  been  stolen.  I'm  going 
to  visit  some  of  the  other  ranchmen  and  notify 
the  sheriff,  and  see  if  we  can't  raise  a  posse  to 
run  down  the  rascals." 

"That's  the  way  to  talk,  Mr.  Bangs!"  cried 
Spouter.  "And  we  know  jwst  what  gang  to  go 
after!" 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE    CAPTURE CONCLUSK5N 

LESS  than  an  hour  later  found  the  whole  party, 
including  Jarley  Bangs,  on  the  way  to  Big  Horn 
Ranch. 

Brassy's  uncle  had  listened  with  keen  interest 
to  the  story  his  nephew  and  the  other  lads  had  to 
relate.  He  had  interrupted  a  number  of  times  to 
ask  questions,  and  at  the  finish  of  the  recital  had 
held  up  both  hands  in  disgust. 

"You're  a  bigger  fool  than  I  ever  thought  you 
were,  Lester,"  he  had  told  his  nephew.  "Why  in 
thunder  didn't  you  tell  your  folks  and  me  all  about 
this  just  as  soon  as  it  happened  ?  We  could  have 
set  a  trap  for  those  rascals  and  caught  'em  easy." 

"But,  Uncle  Jarley,  remember  how  I  was  tied 
up  in  that  Colby  Hall  affair !"  Brassy  had  pleaded. 

"I  don't  believe  Colonel  Colby  would  hold  you 
responsible  for  that — not  after  he'd  made  a  thor- 
ough investigation.  But  that  ain't  here  nor  there. 
What  we  want  to  do  now  is  to  grab  those  fellows 
before  they've  a  chance  to  make  a  get-away.  I'd 

303 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 


just  like  to  ketch  'em  with  Duster  and  White- 
head  in  their  possession!  I  think  I  could  find 
enough  old-timers  around  here  to  hand  all  of  'em  a 
rope,"  and  Jarley  Bangs'  eyes  had  flashed  with  a 
fire  that  was  anything  but  agreeable. 

The  Rover  boys  and  their  chums  had  thought  to 
take  the  regular  trail  leading  back  to  Big  Horn 
Ranch,  but  Jarley  Bangs  told  them  he  knew  of  a 
shorter  way. 

"We  can  cut  off  over  a  mile,"  said  he.  "And 
I  reckon  the  quicker  we  get  a  posse  out  the  bet- 
ter." 

"Don't  you  suppose  we  can  round  them  up 
around  BimbeFs  ranch  almost  any  time  ?"  queried 
Spouter. 

"Maybe,  and  maybe  not.  We'd  probably  be 
able  to  get  the  others,  but  Haddon,  Dusenbury 
and  Jillson  come  and  go.  Sometimes  they're  here, 
and  sometimes  in  Omaha  and  Chicago."  • 

"Perhaps  that's  where  they  disposed  of  their 
stolen  horses,"  suggested  Jack. 

"More'n  likely." 

Jarley  Bangs  had  armed  himself  with  a  double- 
barreled  shotgun,  and  he  rode  in  advance  with 
Spouter  at  his  side  and  the  others  close  behind. 

The  way  lay  across  a  stretch  of  prairie  and 
then  into  the  edge  of  the  woods  bordering  the 
river.  The  party  had  just  gained  the  water's 


THE  CAPTURE— CONCLUSION  305 

edge  and  were  looking  for  a  good  fording  place 
when  Brassy  suddenly  uttered  an  exclamation. 

"Look  up  the  river,  will  you?  There  are  those 
men  now!  And  see!  they  are  leading  a  couple 
of  horses !" 

"Get  back  out  of  sight,  quick!"  ordered  Jarley 
Bangs.  And  in  a  few  seconds  all  were  behind  the 
bushes  which  at  that  point  lined  the  river. 

"Why,  they're  heading  almost  straight  for  Big 
Horn  Ranch!"  exclaimed  Spouter  excitedly. 

"They're  going  to  follow  the  old  river  trail," 
announced  Jarley  Bangs.  "More'n  likely  they'll 
take  to  the  lower  trail  when  they  reach  the  forks." 

"Can't  we  head  'em  off  and  capture  'em?" 
questioned  Fred. 

"I  think  we  can.  Anyhow,  we  can  try,"  was 
Jarley  Bangs'  answer. 

The  old  ranchman  made  a  swift  mental  calcu- 
lation and  then  directed  the  boys  to  follow  him  to 
a  fording  place  a  little  further  down  the  river. 
Once  on  the  other  side  of  the  watercourse,  he 
urged  his  steed  forward  at  topmost  speed  in  the 
direction  of  another  patch  of  timber  further  south- 
ward. 

"They  wouldn't  dare  take  the  upper  trail,"  he 
told  the  lads.  "For  that  would  take  'em  too  close 
to  Big  Horn.  They'll  come  this  way,  I'm  almost 
certain." 


306    THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

It  was  not  easy  riding  on  a  trail  which  was 
used  but  seldom.  Nevertheless,  the  lads  hurried 
after  the  old  ranchman  as  well  as  they  could. 
They  wound  in  and  out  over  some  rough  rocks 
and  up  a  small  hill,  and  presently  emerged  upon 
a  much  better  trail. 

"Here  is  where  they  ought  to  pass,"  announced 
Jarley  Bangs.  "Now  then,  we'll  put  our  horses 
in  the  thicket  and  then  see  what  we  can  do  toward 
pocketing  'em  when  they  come." 

The  old  ranchman  had  seen  strenuous  times  in 
his  younger  days,  and  he  seemed  to  know  exactly 
what  to  do.  He  divided  the  boys  into  two  groups, 
placing  them  on  either  side  of  the  winding  and 
rocky  road. 

"Now  if  you  have  to  shoot,  shoot  high  so  as 
not  to  hit  anybody  on  the  other  side,"  was  his 
warning.  "But  maybe  we  can  get  'em  without 
firing  a  shot,"  he  went  on.  » 

Brassy  was  armed  with  a  small  rifle,  and  he  in- 
sisted upon  remaining  in  the  roadway  with  his 
uncle.  The  other  lads  with  their  pistols  and  guns 
were  placed  in  advantageous  positions  behind 
nearby  rocks  and  trees. 

The  arrangement  was  scarcely  completed  when 
they  heard  the  tramp  of  horses'  hoofs  over  the 
somewhat  rocky  trail,  and  in  a  minute  more  Bud 
Haddon  came  into  view,  followed  by  Jillson  and 


THE   CAPTURE— CONCLUSION  307 

Dusenbury,  all  on  horseback  and  each  of  the  lat- 
ter leading  an  extra  steed. 

"Throw  up  your  hands !"  shouted  Jarley  Bangs, 
as  the  horsemen  came  closer,  and  he  leveled  his 
shotgun  full  at  Haddon's  head,  while  Brassy  cov- 
ered Dusenbury  with  his  rifle.  The  boys  behind 
the  rocks  and  trees  covered  all  three  men  as  well 
as  they  were  able. 

The  three  rascals  had  not  anticipated  such  a 
meeting,  and,  seeing  the  guns  leveled  at  them,  not 
only  from  the  front  but  also  from  the  sides,  three 
pairs  of  hands  went  up  almost  as  one. 

"It's  Bangs !"  murmured  the  man  named  Dusen- 
bury. "I  reckon  the  jig  is  up." 

"Don't  dare  to  budge  or  I'll  blow  somebody's 
head  off!"  roared  Jarley  Bangs.  And  he  looked 
as  if  he  meant  what  he  said. 

"You've  got  the  drop  on  me,  and  I  ain't  mov- 
ing," answered  Bud  Haddon  surlily. 

"Hi,  Powell!  Come  out  here,  will  you?"  went 
on  Brassy  Bangs'  uncle.  And  then,  as  Spouter 
came  from  the  bushes  with  rifle  in  hand,  he  con- 
tinued. "Go  up  there  and  take  every  one  of  their 
guns  away  from  'em." 

As  soon  as  they  had  been  disarmed  the  three 
rascals  were  told  to  dismount  and  stand  in  a  line 
along  the  side  of  the  road.  Then,  as  the  boys 
confronted  them,  Jarley  Bangs  went  through  their 


3o8     THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 

pockets  once  more  to  make  sure  that  no  weapon 
had  been  overlooked. 

"Fine  piece  of  business,  to  run  away  with  my 
horses!"  exclaimed  the  old  ranch  owner,  and  he 
jerked  his  head  in  the  direction  of  the  two  ani- 
mals the  men  had  been  leading. 

With  their  hands  tied  in  front  of  them,  the 
men  were  made  to  remount,  and  then  the  entire 
party  lost  no  time  in  heading  for  Big  Horn  Ranch. 

"I'll  fix  you  for  this !"  hissed  Haddon  at  Brassy 
when  he  got  the  chance. 

"You  do  your  worst!"  retorted  the  boy.  "I'm 
not  afraid  of  you  any  more." 

Of  course,  there  was  great  excitement  at  the 
ranch  when  the  crowd  came  in  with  the  three 
prisoners.  The  story  of  what  had  happened  was 
quickly  circulated,  and  Joe  Jackson  and  a  num- 
ber of  the  cowboys  were  called  in  f  roni  the  ranges. 
One  of  the  cowboys  was  sent  off  to  notify  a  dep- 
uty sheriff  of  what  had  occurred  and  of  what  the 
ranch  owners  expected  to  do,  and  two  other  cow- 
boys were  started  off  to  notify  the  owners  of  other 
ranches  in  that  vicinity. 

As  a  consequence  early  the  next  morning  a 
posse  consisting  of  twelve  men  headed  for  Bim- 
bel's  ranch.  Of  course,  the  boys  wanted  to  go 
along,  but  they  were  forced  to  remain  behind, 
much  to  their  chagrin. 


THE   CAPTURE— CONCLUSION 


309 


"You  might  get  shot,"  said  Songbird  Powell. 
"And,  besides  that,  you  have  had  glory  enough, 
helping  to  catch  these  three  rascals,"  and  he  smiled 
faintly. 

The  affair  at  Bimbel's  was  rather  a  strenuous 
one.  Jenks  and  Noxley,  as  well  as  Bimbel,  tried 
to  escape,  and  Noxley  was  shot  in  the  leg.  The 
fellow  thought  he  was  going  to  die,  and  while 
waiting  for  the  doctor  to  come  and  attend  him 
he  made  a  full  confession  concerning  the  steal- 
ing of  many  of  the  horses  in  that  neighborhood. 
He  said  that  Bud  Haddon  was  at  the  head  of  the 
gang  and  that  Haddon,  with  Jillson  and  Dusen- 
bury,  were  in  the  habit  of  disposing  of  the  ani- 
mals either  at  Omaha  or  Chicago,  although  one  or 
two  steeds,  including  one  belonging  to  the  former 
owners  of  Big  Horn  Ranch  had  been  sent  further 
east. 

"I  guess  it  was  one  of  the  early  thefts  that 
took  Haddon  to  Haven  Point,"  declared  Jack,  and 
in  that  surmise  he  was  correct. 

With  this  evidence  against  them,  Haddon,  Jill- 
son  and  Dusenbury  were  submitted  to  a  severe 
gruelling,  each  being  examined  separately.  Fi- 
nally Dusenbury  broke  down  completely  and  ad- 
mitted that  he  and  the  other  two  had  fired  John 
Calder's  barn  after  stealing  his  noted  pair  of  gray 
horses.  The  horses  had  been  shipped  out  of  town, 


310 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 


and  were  later  on  recovered,  as  were  also  Mr. 
Powell's  Blackbird  and  several  other  of  the  ani- 
mals. 

When  Bud  Haddon's  effects  were  examined 
many  pawn  tickets  were  discovered,  and  follow- 
ing up  the  clues  thus  afforded  Colonel  Colby 
managed  to  get  back  many  of  the  articles  stolen 
from  the  school.  These  included  Professor 
Duke's  heirloom  watch  and  a  number  of  the  things 
lost  by  our  friends. 

At  first  it  was  thought  that  Brassy  might  be 
prosecuted,  but  when  Bud  Haddon  was  brought 
to  trial  for  the  thefts  the  State  used  the  youth 
as  a  witness  against  the  fellow,  and  consequently 
Brassy  was  allowed  to  go  free.  He,  however,  re- 
ceived a  stern  lecture  from  Colonel  Colby  and  was 
then  told  that  he  had  better  not  return  to  the 
Hall. 

"I  don't  think  I  want  to  come  back,"  said 
Brassy.  "A  whole  lot  of  the  fellows  would  never 
forgive  me  for  what  I  did."  And  in  this  surmise 
he  was  probably  correct.  Brassy  returned  to  his 
uncle's  ranch,  and  that  was  the  last  heard  of  him 
for  a  long  time. 

With  the  mystery  of  the  robbery  at  Colby  Hall 
and  of  the  missing  horses  cleared  up,  the  Rover 
boys  and  all  the  other  young  folks  at  Big  Horn 
Ranch  turned  their  attention  once  more  to  hav- 


THE  CAPTURE— CONCLUSION  311 

ing  a  good  time.  Sam  Rover  went  back  to  New 
York  to  take  charge  of  the  offices  in  Wall  Street, 
and  that  gave  Dick  Rover  and  his  wife  a  chance 
to  come  out  and  pay  the  ranch  a  visit. 

"We've  certainly  had  some  strenuous  times 
here,"  remarked  Jack  one  day. 

And  he  was  right.  But  other  strenuous  times 
were  still  in  store  for  the  lads,  and  what  some  of 
these  were  will  be  related  in  the  next  volume,  to 
be  entitled,  "The  Rover  Boys  at  Big  Bear  Lake ; 
or,  The  Camps  of  the  Rival  Cadets." 

"Big  Horn  Ranch  is  a  delightful  place,"  said 
Ruth.  "I  never  thought  a  spot  where  they  raised 
cattle  could  be  so  interesting." 

"Is  your  father  going  to  stay  out  here  and  be- 
come a  regular  ranchman,  Spouter?"  questioned 
Fred. 

"I  don't  know  about  that,"  answered  the  ranch 
owner's  son.  "He'll  stay  here  for  a  while,  any- 
way. He  likes  it  better  and  better  every  day." 

"I  dink  some  day  I  got  me  a  ranch  mineself 
alreatty,"  remarked  Hans  Mueller.  "Den  I  could 
raise  all  mine  own  meats  for  mine  delicatessen 
stores,  not  so?"  and  he  smiled  complacently. 

"Come  on,  boys,  let's  get  on  horseback  and  have 
a  race !"  cried  Andy,  as  he  came  up  from  finishing 
a  game  of  lawn  tennis  with  Mary. 

"I'm  with  you,"  answered  Fred,  who  had  been 


312 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  BIG  HORN  RANCH 


playing  a  game  of  croquet  with  May  and  some  of 
the  others. 

"All  right !    A  horseback  race  it  is !"  cried  Jack. 

"An  extra  piece  of  cake  to  the  boy  who  wins !" 
shouted  his  sister  Martha  after  him. 

"Hurrah!  Me  for  that  piece  of  cake!"  came 
from  every  one  of  the  boys  assembled. 

And  here,  while  they  are  running  down  to  the 
corral  pell-mell  to  get  on  their  horses  for  a  gallop 
across  the  prairie,  we  will  leave  them  and  say 
good-bye. 


THE   END 


WESTERN  STORIES  FOR  BOYS 

By  JAMES  CODY  FERRIS 

Each  Volume   Complete  in  Itself. 

Thrilling  tales  of  the  great  west,  told  primarily  for  boys 
but  which  will  be  read  by  all  who  love  mystery,  rapid 
action,  and  adventures  in  the  great  open  spaces. 

The  Manly  boys,  Roy  and  Teddy,  are  the  sons  of  an  old 
ranchman,  the  owner  of  many  thousands  of  heads  of  cattle. 
The  kds  know  how  to  ride,  how  to  shoot,  and  how  to 
take  care  of  themselves  under  any  and  all  circumstances. 

The  cowboys  of  the  X  Bar  X  Ranch  are  real  cowboys, 
on  the  job  when  required,  but  full  of  fun  and  daring — a 
bunch  any  reader  will  be  delighted  to  know. 

THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  ON  THE  RANCH 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  IN  THUNDER  CANYON 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  ON  WHIRLPOOL  RIVER 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  ON  BIG  BISON  TRAIL 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  AT  THE  ROUND-UP 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  AT  NUGGET  CAMP 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  AT  RUSTLER'S  GAP 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  AT  GRIZZLY  PASS 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  LOST  IN  THE  ROCKIES 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  RIDING  FOR  LIFE 
THE  X  BAR  X  BOYS  IN  SMOKY  VALLEY 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    Publishers,    NEW  YORK 


THE  HARDY  BOYS  SERIES 

By  FRANKLIN  W.  DIXON 

Illustrated.     Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself 

The  Hardy  Boys  are  sons  of  a  celebrated  American 
detective,  and  during  vacations  and  their  off  time  from 
school  they  help  their  father  by  hunting  down  dues  them- 
selves. 

THE  TOWER  TREASURE — A  dying  criminal  confessed  that 
his  loot  had  been  secreted  "  in  the  tower."  It  remained  for  the 
Hardy  Boys  to  clear  up  the  mystery. 

THE  HOUSE  ON  THE  CLIFF— Mr.  Hardy  started  to  invest- 
igate — and  disappeared !  An  odd  tale,  with  plenty  of  excitement. 

THE  SECRET  OF  THE  OLD  MILL— Counterfeit  money  was 
in  circulation,  and  the  limit  was  reached  when  Mrs.  Hardy  took 
some  from  a  stranger.  A  tale  full  of  thrills. 

THE  MISSING  CHUMS— Two  of  the  Hardy  Boys'  chums 
disappear  and  are  almost  rescued  by  their  friends  when  all  are 
captured.  A  thrilling  story  of  adventure. 

HUNTING  FOR  HIDDEN  GOLD— in  tracing  some  stolen 
gold  the  trail  leads  the  boys  to  an  abandoned  mine,  and  there 
things  start  to  happen. 

THE  SHORE  ROAD  MYSTERY— Automobiles  were  disap- 
pearing most  mysteriously  from  the  Shore  Road.  It  remained  for 
the  Hardy  Boys  to  solve  the  mystery. 

THE  SECRET  OF  THE  CAVES— When  the  boys  reached 
the  caves  they  came  unexpectedly  upon  a  queer  old  hermit. 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  CABIN  ISLAND— A  story  of  queer 
adventures  on  a  rockbound  island. 

THE  GREAT  AIRPORT  MYSTERY— The  Hardy  Boys  solve 
the  mystery  of  the  disappearance  of  some  valuable  mail. 

WHAT  HAPPENED  AT  MIDNIGHT— The  boys  follow  a 
trail  that  ends  in  a  strange  and  exciting  situation. 

WHILE  THE  CLOCK  TICKED— The  Hardy  Boys  aid  in  vin- 
dicating a  man  who  has  been  wrongly  accused  of  a  crime. 

FOOTPRINTS  UNDER  THE  WINDOW— The  Smuggling 
of  Chinese  into  this  country  is  the  basis  of  this  story  in  which  the 
boys  find  thrills  and  excitement  aplenty. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


University  of  California 

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405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

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